What Can I Do About the Fat Around My Knees?

While excess fat around your knees is rarely a serious medical issue, it can be bothersome and frustrating. Apart from making you feel self-conscious about wearing shorts and mini dresses, knee fat is also difficult to get rid of. There is, moreover, no specific exercise that can target the fat around your knees alone. 

A number of things can affect the appearance or amount of fat on your knees or other body parts. Genes primarily dictate where you store your fat, which plays an important role in determining your weight. Your gender also plays a role. Women tend to store excess fat on the hips and thighs while men store more fat on the abdominal area. 

Other factors that can affect the appearance of your knees include:

• Excess or extra weight
• Sagging skin due to weight loss or aging
• Inactivity or lack of exercise
• Decreased muscle tone due to injury or inactivity

Can you target or spot-reduce knee fat?

The short answer is no. Spot-reduction, according to scientific evidence, is not possible and does not work. This is why you cannot expect to lose fat around this area by just doing more squats and lunges. As mentioned above, there is no specific exercise that can spot-reduce knee fat and other pockets of fat in the body.

The right approach is to lose weight in general or reduce overall body fat. You can do this through a combination of cardio and strength-training exercise with a balanced diet. Doing so can help slim or shape your knee area, as well as other stubborn fat bulges in other areas of the body.

What about toning or strengthening the knee area?

Regular exercise, along with a balanced diet, remains the best way to reduce body fat. You may also be glad to know that you can include certain exercises in your routine to tone and strengthen the muscles in your knees or lower body. These include:

• Walking – for reducing knee pain and strengthening the knees.
• Biking – for improving overall endurance and toning knees, quads, and thighs.
• Squats – for improving knee strength and toning legs and glutes.
• Lunges – for strengthening quads and hamstrings, which is beneficial to your knees.
• Jumping rope – for strengthening your heart and legs.

Are there any aesthetic treatments I can try?

Yes, there are. At Cutis Laser Clinics in Singapore, we have non-invasive fat reduction treatments that can reduce fat in the knee area, as well as other parts of the body. Here are some procedures worth considering:

CoolSculpting® Fat Freezing (CoolMini)

CoolSculpting® is a US FDA-approved fat reduction treatment. It uses Cryolipolysis or controlled cooling technology to target and kill fat cells. This triggers the process of natural cell death (apoptosis), with the treated fat cells cleared through the lymphatic system and processed as waste in the liver. 

CoolMini is a CoolSculpting applicator specifically designed for smaller pockets of fat in the knee, chin, and armpit areas. The CoolMini can suction the fat bulges in your knees by exposing them to freezing temperatures. CoolSculpting can also treat other areas (belly, arms, and thighs) without harming the skin or other tissues.

After the first session, some patients report seeing results as early as three weeks. However, significant or dramatic results can be seen within 60 to 90 days or once the body has metabolized the dead fat cells. Maintaining a healthy diet and exercise routine can help you achieve long-term results.

Z Lipo Fat Freezing (Z Lipo Mini)

Just like CoolSculpting, Z Lipo also uses safe fat freezing technology to kill and permanently remove fat cells. It targets and freezes fat bulges for a certain amount of time using a handpiece connected to the device. Exposure to cold temperatures triggers apoptosis or natural cell death. 

Z Lipo Mini is a handpiece specifically made to target smaller pockets of fat in the body. These include knee fat, double chin, and bra or underarm fat. Z Lipo also has other handpieces for targeting larger areas like the belly, thighs, arms, and other fat bulges that are resistant to diet and exercise.

With Z Lipo, the fat cells are cleared through the lymphatic system over a period of 10 to 12 weeks. Once the body has flushed all the treated fat cells, you will then see a reduction in the fat layer thickness, with a slimmer treated area.

Take note: While fat freezing treatments can permanently remove fat cells, they are not weight loss treatments. It also takes several sessions of each procedure to achieve better and optimal results. Your diet and lifestyle, furthermore, can affect the results or longevity of results. 

Schedule a consultation and body assessment

Are you worried about the fat around your knees and other parts of the body? Consider fat freezing treatments. Contact Cutis Laser Clinics today to schedule a body assessment and consultation with our aesthetic doctor and determine which procedure suits you best.