“I find that you have to keep up your appearance physically, even if you just want a companion or someone to ask you to dinner. That’s not going to happen if you don’t have a figure that these geezers are looking for.”

—MARIE KOLSTAD, 83, a widow living in Orange County, Calif., who spent $8,000 for a breast lift and implants. Kolstad is one of a growing number of Americans in their 70s, 80s and even 90s, who are undergoing elective plastic surgeries to enhance their appearance. In 2010, there were 84,685 surgical procedures among patients 65 years and older, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. The reasons are many: to attract mates, to compete with younger people in the workforce, or simply to look as young on the outside as people feel on the inside. [via The New York Times]