Who Gets Cellulite?

Cellulite is a common term used to describe superficial pockets of trapped fat, which cause uneven dimpling or “orange peel” skin. Cellulite is a syndrome of modern society and has always been regarded as a typically female syndrome.
Up until less than three decades ago only one woman in three above the age of 30 was affected by it. Sadly, since the end of the seventies increasingly more and increasingly younger women have been getting cellulite.

Cellulite appears in 90% of post-adolescent women and is rarely seen in men, although increasingly more men are suffering from furrows and dimples on the thighs, stomach and buttocks. Contrary to popular belief, cellulite is not related to obesity, since it occurs in overweight, normal, and thin women as well.

Cellulite appears from around the age of 14, but it can happen at any age. As one mature, the subcutaneous skin layer thins and redistributes, resulting in cellulite being more obvious. Although cellulite is not hereditary, one might be more prone to cellulite because of the acquired bad habits from one’s parents.

Cellulite affects women more than men as fat cells in the male body are shaped differently and fat is stored differently. In women, the subcutaneous fat layer is organized into large vertical chambers where an abundance of fat can be stored and become more obvious. In men, the chambers are arranged as small diagonal units, which not only store smaller quantities of fat but are also resided deeper in the skin, hence rarely poking through to cause the ripples that are associated with cellulite.

One easy test to determine if one has got cellulite is the Pinch Test. You pinch the skin on your outer thigh between your index finger and your thumb, and look for dimpling. You can also try other regions of the body, namely the buttocks and abdomen. If you notice dimpling, then there is cellulite there.

A more sophisticated way of classifying cellulite is the Nurnberger - Muller scale – a 4 stage process to determine the stage of cellulite development, beginning with normal skin and terminating with its most advanced stage. The Nurnberger - Muller scale was developed by Drs. Nurnberger and Muller in the late 1970s.

In Stage 0, there is no dimpling when the subject is standing and lying. The pinch test reveals “folds and furrows”, but there is no mattress-like appearance. In Stage 1, there is still no dimpling while the subject is standing or lying, but the pinch test reveals the mattress-like appearance. In Stage 2, dimpling appears spontaneously when standing and not lying down. In the last Stage 3, dimpling is spontaneously positive standing and lying down.

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