There was a time when people were questioning the aesthetic merits of Jennifer Lopez’s supersized buttocks. But that’s history. Now, everyone has jumped on that bandwagon, including Kim Kardashian and Beyonce Knowles.

According to Canoe-Lifewise, June 27, “plastic surgeons and personal trainers say a bubbly booty trend has reared itself, and women lacking in that department are coming to them for help.” A Toronto plastic surgeon uses two different methods to augment buttocks. If you lack extra flab, he will insert silicone implants in your cheeks. But if you have some fat to spare, he removes it from where you don’t want it and injects it into your chassis. The goal is to “fill out” your jeans.  On an average month, he performs two to three buttock augmentations compared with five to ten breast implants.

Canoe reports that According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), U.S. residents spent more than $26 million on butt augmentations in 2011, a 40 percent increase from the year before. Costs range from about $6,500 to $8,500.

But there are also nonsurgical routes to a bigger butt. Personal trainers supply advice on diet and the exercises that will boost the rear end. A lot of women with unendowed rears go for the quickest fix: padded jeans or silicone panties are designed to push up the bum the same way a padded bra pushes up the breasts. There is actually a company called “Bubblebums” that mimics Kardashian’s heart-shaped derriere.

Unlike oversized pocketbooks and high boots, big bums are not a simple fashion trend. They are solely and unequivocally designed to attract the opposite sex. Researchers from the University of Texas say that men are addicted to women with hourglass figures, much like a martini attracts an alcoholic. Head scans done on men who looked at big butt images showed activity in the part of their brains associated with rewards.

Unhappily, there are self-styled practitioners out there who have taken advantage of this trend, injecting buttocks with dangerous substances. For the best results, consult a board-certified practitioner and undergo your procedure in an accredited facility.