When weightlifting or dieting doesn’t help, people of course go for steroids and human growth hormone. But when such strategies fail, they seem to opt for plastic surgery. It is a culture that enshrines physical perfection after all.

'Location is everything,' says Bill Hayes, a lifelong bodybuilder and writer on health and medical issues ('The Anatomist'). 'And in the landscape of the body, the chest is prime territory. Think about it: It's at the top of the trunk; it protects and covers the heart and lungs. It's a great spot for a head to rest on.'

Pectoral implants, although still a niche product, are growing in popularity: 409 procedures were performed in 2006, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, a 99 percent increase over the year before.

There's a stigma attached to them - the feeling that men who go that route are lazy or excessively vain - but those who buy the implants contend that the psychological benefits are substantial, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.

'It's such a confidence booster,' says one San Francisco massage therapist who got the implants two years ago as a 40th birthday gift to himself. 'I walk a little taller now. And of course you want to buy every tight white T-shirt. It's crazy!'