Men are facing similar pressures as women to look good and it is contributing to a rise in the numbers having cosmetic surgery, experts say.

The Men's Health Forum said advertising and the media were reinforcing the stereotypes that men needed to be athletic-looking and toned.

It comes as figures show the number of men over 50 having cosmetic surgery has risen more than 140% in five years.

Liposuction comes out top as the favourite procedure.

One in four of all liposuction operations carried out by The Harley Medical Group is now on men, the firm said.

The procedure costs around £3,700 and needs one week off work in recovery time.

Of operations carried out on men aged 50 and over, some 24% involve liposuction to areas like the abdomen, chest and chin.

One in five operations is to remove eye bags, called a blepharoplasty, while facelifts account for 14% of procedures, nose jobs for 11% and tummy tucks for 8%.

Neck lifts add up to 7% of procedures on men over 50, brow lifts account for 5%, chin implants for 3% and ear surgery for 2%.