In the Good Morning America clip above, Juju Chang offers a history of the cankle outbreak, explaining they're "associated with pregnant ladies, the elderly, and the obese, but even skinny people can suffer from the 'curse of cankles.'" (Both Miley Cyrus and Jennifer Aniston have been afflicted!)

Chang took a trip to Gold's Gym (which spawned the story that will not die by declaring July "Cankle Awareness Month"), and learned some cankle-toning exercises from trainer Nikki Kimbrow. But these moves alone won't conquer chubby ankles (especially since they're so easy Chang can perform them in high heels). "It's not about just hitting those target areas," says Nikki, "Yeah, let's hit those cankles, but let's get the entire body fit and let's feel good about ourselves."

Thankfully there are other solutions, like having getting lipo to make your calves more shapely. Christina Reggie's ankles caused her "years of emotional distress," but in June she finally went under the knife to repair her "deformed" legs. We didn't notice any difference between the before and after pictures, but Reggie was so pleased with her surgery that she and her doctor appeared on both GMA and CBS's Early Show (clip below) to rave about the results.

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While GMA tried to comfort viewers with the prospect of exercising away the grotesque way women's legs connect to their feet, on The Early Show Dr. Michelle Copeland informed viewers that, "unfortunately... exercise alone won't get rid of this." The said could be same for this "trend" story.

Earlier: Waste Of Space: WSJ Devotes Frontpage Real Estate To Women's Ankles

Well, she asked the plastic surgeon for his opinion, as part of an exposé for Vanity Fair. Since Americans spent $13 billion on 11.7 million cosmetic procedures (both surgical and nonsurgical) in 2007, and it seems that patients getting elective cosmetic surgery are younger and younger. Berliet actually visited three physicians for her article, asking them what she "needed" and, as the piece notes, "The answers were as different as the doctors themselves." Berliet writes:

When I began this project, I was relatively certain that I didn't need plastic surgery. I also suspected that plastic surgeons might tell me otherwise. To test my hypothesis, I went undercover. In the process, I hoped to learn something about what happens inside examination rooms across New York City and, by extension, the United States. Are teenybopper idols and those who emulate them freely choosing plastic surgery? Or is plastic surgery choosing them?

The first surgeon, Dr. Rapaport, wanted to lipo Berliet's "waist wads," even though they were "borderline." (He said: "I've done supermodels with much less than this. To them it was important. To each his own.") He also wanted to suck the fat out of her outer thighs and "banana rolls" — that is, the part of her butt that peeks out of her underwear. ("As a Caucasian woman, you probably…would want this brought down," he explained.) Add a C-cup, some Restylane, and a nose job, and you've got $33,000 worth of procedures. Dr. Rapaport also suggested Berliet do something with her hair.

The next two doctors Berliet visited weren't nearly as aggressive. "Botox? You don't need it. You look good," Dr. Heller insisted. Dr. Racanelli was more even-handed: "The way it works is: you tell me if something specifically bothers you, and I'll tell you if I can address it. But I'm not here to sell you services or goods."

But one has to wonder if the eager Dr. Rapaport is the exception or the rule. Are cosmetic surgeons more salesmen than doctors? Remember the 26 year old who was told she needs Botox? Or what about the doctor who suggested Tracie get lipo on her vagina? And what are the chances that a young woman or teenage girl is going to see a Dr. Racanelli type instead of a Dr. Rapaport type?

Plastic Surgery Confidential [Vanity Fair]
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And the 27-year-old who knew she was about to get engaged, so she booked an appointment for liposuction to get rid of a small bulge around her hips. "She had monitored her boyfriend's e-mail and knew approximately when he would ask her and that he planned to capture it on video," says Dr. Rappaport. "She wanted to look her best."

Other great quotes from Doctors Patricia Wexler (the first) and Alan Matarasso (the second two)

• "It was easier to do a little lipo than fix the dress."
  
• "A healthy person with localized areas of fat can have surgery at 8 a.m. and go out to dinner that night."
  
• One woman wanted her forearms done and another wanted the fat on her feet and toes removed. But you can't get more than a couple of grams of fat out of a foot."