National market analysis for body contouring providers: Medical spas and physician practices.

BACKGROUND Non-invasive body contouring has experienced recent growth. To meet demand, medical spas and non-physician operators have grown. Insights into their practice can provide information on their impact. OBJECTIVE Our study investigated the current market distribution of body contouring providers in the aesthetic field. MATERIALS AND METHODS For the 30 most populous cities, data was collected for non-invasive body contouring providers in medical spas and physician practices. Descriptive ratios were calculated, and various local factors were examined. RESULTS The cities with the greatest number of body contouring providers were New York (138), Los Angeles (106), and Houston (87). Population size had a significant relationship, while median household income did not. For number of body contouring providers per 100,000 persons, the top cities were Austin (4.87), Houston (3.74), and Las Vegas (3.41). The mean ratio of providers in medical spas to physician practices was 1.81. In total, 70.0% of cities had equal or more body contouring providers in medical spas than physician practices. CONCLUSION Certain cities have experienced an unequal distribution of body contouring providers, and many cities favor medical spas over physician-based practices.