The Mystery of the Thigh Killer
It sneaks up on you when you least expect it, and once it's there it sticks around like an uninvited guest. But what exactly is it that's dimpling and puckering our once smooth skin?
(Nutricise ) — Some bad words have more than four letters. For most women, cellulite is one of the dirtiest. But what exactly is this mysterious dimpling of skin, and how do we get it? It depends on whom you ask.
Nobody really knows what cellulite is, according to Leo McCafferty, M.D., clinical professor of plastic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. It can plant itself on the very young, the very obese or even the very thin, he says.
So how do those smooth contours become dimpled patches crying out for longer shorts? Beneath our skin is a layer of fat that lies on top of our muscles. If those were the only layers involved, we probably wouldn't see cellulite. The problem is, there's a network of fibers that connects the muscles to our skin. It's this network that creates pockets where fat can accumulate or press down on the normally smooth layer of fat that, like a cookie cutter, forces some of the fat up between the fibrous strings. For people who have cellulite, this manifests itself in a bumpy, cottage cheese-like surface to the skin.
Cellulite is often perceived as an imperfection. Actually, cellulite is simply a term we use to describe the dimpling look of our surface skin, according to McCafferty. Cellulite has to do with the relationship of the skin to the underlying fat, he says. And that initial layer of fat is not something that's abnormal or even something of which you should try to rid yourself. 'You have to have layers of fat, McCafferty says. 'If you had skin directly on your muscle, you would look like a burn victim. A nice layer of fat gives us a soft look,' he says.
Women tend to deposit fat in different places than men—typically on the inner and outer thighs, the hips and the buttocks, McCafferty says. Men, on the other hand, tend to get cellulite on their love handles, around their midsections.
Because cellulite is the result of the way the connective fibers cut across the naturally occurring fat in between the muscle and the skin, even very thin people can have it—cellulite is not necessarily an indicator that you're eating too much or exercising too little. That said, you may be wondering the next logical thing: How can you keep it from showing up at all?
If you want to know how to prevent and reduce the appearance of cellulite, read Fight the Cellulite, Part Two: Keeping It from Coming this Thursday in the Women's Health Channel.
(Nutricise ) — Some bad words have more than four letters. For most women, cellulite is one of the dirtiest. But what exactly is this mysterious dimpling of skin, and how do we get it? It depends on whom you ask.
Nobody really knows what cellulite is, according to Leo McCafferty, M.D., clinical professor of plastic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. It can plant itself on the very young, the very obese or even the very thin, he says.
So how do those smooth contours become dimpled patches crying out for longer shorts? Beneath our skin is a layer of fat that lies on top of our muscles. If those were the only layers involved, we probably wouldn't see cellulite. The problem is, there's a network of fibers that connects the muscles to our skin. It's this network that creates pockets where fat can accumulate or press down on the normally smooth layer of fat that, like a cookie cutter, forces some of the fat up between the fibrous strings. For people who have cellulite, this manifests itself in a bumpy, cottage cheese-like surface to the skin.
Cellulite is often perceived as an imperfection. Actually, cellulite is simply a term we use to describe the dimpling look of our surface skin, according to McCafferty. Cellulite has to do with the relationship of the skin to the underlying fat, he says. And that initial layer of fat is not something that's abnormal or even something of which you should try to rid yourself. 'You have to have layers of fat, McCafferty says. 'If you had skin directly on your muscle, you would look like a burn victim. A nice layer of fat gives us a soft look,' he says.
Women tend to deposit fat in different places than men—typically on the inner and outer thighs, the hips and the buttocks, McCafferty says. Men, on the other hand, tend to get cellulite on their love handles, around their midsections.
Because cellulite is the result of the way the connective fibers cut across the naturally occurring fat in between the muscle and the skin, even very thin people can have it—cellulite is not necessarily an indicator that you're eating too much or exercising too little. That said, you may be wondering the next logical thing: How can you keep it from showing up at all?
If you want to know how to prevent and reduce the appearance of cellulite, read Fight the Cellulite, Part Two: Keeping It from Coming this Thursday in the Women's Health Channel.
