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Cellulitis is a characteristic phenomenon that makes the skin appear bumpy in specific areas, often in women. These ‘bumps’, or sometimes ‘dimples’, are common in areas such as hips, thighs, and buttocks. But what exactly is cellulitis? And what causes it? Let’s delve a bit deeper.
What is cellulitis?
In the introduction, we already described that cellulitis occurs in specific parts of the body and is more common in women than in men. Factually speaking, the term cellulitis is not correct. After all, the last part of the word “cellulitis” indicates that it is a skin inflammation. We speak of this subcutaneous connective tissue inflammation when the skin is actually inflamed, red, swollen, and painful.
In common language, cellulitis refers to the superficial skin condition that resembles an orange peel. This is nothing more than subcutaneous fat tissue held together by connective tissue. This fat tissue is often stored around the hips, so the legs, buttocks, and thighs. Because women often have a higher percentage of body fat than men, it is more common in women.
Fortunately, it’s not an unhealthy appearance, but it can certainly bother you. After all, in many magazines, you see models with slim legs and buttocks without cellulitis. By the way, cellulitis does not automatically mean that you have overweight, but you do see it more often in women who have a bit more fat on their bodies.
How does cellulitis develop?
Now that we know what it is, let’s dive into the books to find out how cellulitis develops. First of all, the bumps and dimples on the skin are forms of fat deposits in the connective tissue of the skin and subcutaneous tissue. This accumulation mainly takes place in the adipocytes. The adipocytes are the fat cells located in the subcutaneous tissue. When these get larger, the envelopes of the adipocytes also change shape. This puts pressure on the skin’s attachment points, causing the tight skin to deform into an orange peel-like texture.
Aside from the fact that nutrition plays an important role in the development of cellulitis, a large part of it also depends on your hormones. Your skin is very sensitive to changes in your hormone balance. Just look at what happens to the skin during menstruation or pregnancy. Hormones stimulate the formation of fat deposits and reserves.
Cellulitis and sports
Can’t you exercise it away?
Partly, because the cause is related to fat. By exercising, you have a higher energy expenditure. Depending on your
diet, this can lower your
body fat percentage.
In addition, you train the muscles of your legs and buttocks, keeping your skin tighter. So in this respect, exercising can certainly help fight cellulitis. The combination of (strength) training and healthy nutrition is therefore a plus if you want to combat cellulitis.
Unfortunately, there are also cases where this is not the case. If you are very sensitive to hormonal changes, fat can still accumulate in certain areas despite all the sporting efforts.
