Donovan Nelson, 54, Has Pec Implants and Liposuction to Keep Wife

A 54-year-old Essex man has undergone pec implants and liposuction in a bid to keep up with his younger wife.

Donovan Nelson, of Braintree, turned to cosmetic surgery to help regain his youthful figure after exercise and dieting proved ineffective.

"You can only go so far with exercise and at my age it's much harder to keep the weight off," he told MailOnline.

"I do a lot of cardio but it's hard to shift the fat in certain areas, especially after a certain age.

"The good thing about this treatment is it's targeted weight loss off the area you want to lose it from. I had love handles and fat below my pecs and I wanted to get rid of it."

Pressure to have a toned and muscular body was intensified by the fact that his wife Anna is 21 years his junior. He spent £10,000 in his quest for better body definition.

His implants and a procedure called Vaser high-def was performed by Dr Mike Comins at the Private Clinic of Harley Street.

The operation, carried out under local anaesthetic, involves melting away the unwanted fat and removing it via a tiny tube.

Nelson, who owns a marketing company, insists that he is happier than he has ever been after achieving his ideal body.

He said: "Now I feel so much more confident and I love walking around without my top on.

"I like to go to Ibiza every summer for a few days and dance with my top off - being over 50 it's hard to dance around with your top off unless you're in good shape.

He continued: "I would say to other men, try and get in shape through exercise first but if that doesn't work then perhaps surgery is a better option. Also, the amount it costs is a good incentive to keep it off.

"I do get told I look very young for my age. I once got stopped at passport control as the officer didn't believe it was me."

According to experts, a more open attitude to cosmetic surgery has triggered a rise in the number of men going under the knife. Within the last two years, the Harley Street clinic has seen the number of men above the age of 50 who have had non-surgical alternative to liposuction increase by more than 110 percent.

"The image of a senior male figure in business today is very different to what it was some 10-15 years ago," Comins said.

"Gone are the days where men can afford not to care about the way they look and their physical health and fitness. Now these men are in the public eye and they care a great deal about looking and feeling fit and healthy beyond the age of 50."