Cellulite finally explained….
The best way to visualise the understanding of cellulite is to quickly grab a pencil and paper. Draw 3 lines – the outer line is your outer epidermis (line 1). The line below this is called the inner dermis (line 2). (Line 3) Lies in the subcutaneous layer, which attaches the skin to the underlying tissues. This layer consists of loose connective tissue and a lot of adipose (fat) tissue (this gets tested with skinfolds). On the other hand, the dermis consists of dense connective tissue composed mainly of collagen fibres (responsible for the mechanical strength of skin). Picture it like this; the epidermis is like a pair of pantihose (only very small things can pass thru it) and the dermis is like fishnets. Genetically though some people have fishnets (dermis – connective tissue) that have larger openings and some people have smaller openings.
People who display cellulite are those that have a dermis layer that is not as dense. Add to this excess fat at the subcutaneous layer and the fat pushes through the dermis layer like playdough through a fishnet. There’s actually two major components that create cellulite – genetics (sorry) and large deposits of fat. Now why don’t men appear to suffer so much with cellulite? When there are large fat stores there’s the presence and activity of the fat-promoting enzyme lipoprotein lipase. Women tend to have a higher percent of this activity in the thighs and hips in preparation for pregnancy and lactation. Thus, a woman who genetically has a dermis layer that is less dense is more likely to have cellulite than a man who is carrying the same ratio of lean tissue to fat %.
What is the solution?
• Decrease the amount of body fat on your body (less fat, less playdough to be pushed through the dermis)
• Tone up with resistance training
