Melt away that extra flab

It sounds too good to be true, and maybe it is. But companies are working on ways to eliminate unwanted fat painlessly. None of these have been approved as safe or effective, but believers speak of making fat cells melt away by using sound waves, electricity or injections of a fat-attacking substance.

One technique starting clinical trials uses ultrasound. If the high-frequency sound waves are correctly applied, the companies say, it can break down fat that the body will gradually absorb and eliminate on its own.

Liposuction involves inserting hollow rods through the skin to suck out fat. It causes bruising and, in some cases, even death. The ultrasound technique would use a hand-held transducer like that used to look at a foetus in the womb.