In an effort to meet the weight standards set by the United States military some soldiers are turning to a number of dangerous methods including diet pills, laxatives and starvation, while others are choosing to undergo liposuction, Fox News reports.

The requirement that soldiers maintain a certain weight puts considerable pressure on them to meet those standards. According to the news source, around one-third of men and women in uniform failed to meet those requirements. The extra pounds might result in the loss of leadership roles. Around 24,000 soldiers were discharged between 1992 and 2007 for being overweight.

According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, liposuction is not a weight loss treatment. Liposuction can have serious consequences and doctors warn that taking such steps for weight loss is not safe.

"We want soldiers to look right," Dr. Thomas Williams, leader of Army Physical Fitness Research Institute, told the Army Times. "But they also need to feel right and perform right, and you can't get that from a pill or a procedure."

According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery the best candidates for liposuction are those who have areas of fat that are resistant to diet and exercise.