The Basics of Cellulite: What You Need to Know

Why does cellulite occur?

No one really knows why cellulite occurs. A number of reasons and theories exist. Some individuals have a number of factors which predisposes them to cellulite, whereas in others, there are no identifiable risk factors

Genetic: There is a genetic link to cellulite. Many women who do develop cellulite have other family members and siblings with the condition, but not every one in the family is affected. The exact gene and linkage remain unknown.

Water: Some believe that cellulite is more common when the intake if water is limited. These researchers claim that water flushes out the toxins that cause cellulite and recommend 7 glasses of water daily. Cellulite is a fat product and can never be eliminated by fat. However, individuals who do drink water also develop cellulite and so the water theory is meaningless.

Diet: Some claim that poor dietary habits such as eating spices, alcohol and too much coffee make one predisposed to cellulite. However, there are many such individuals who do not develop cellulite. The link between eating spicy foods and cellulite is puzzling since millions of Asians who do consume such foods do not have cellulite.

Smoking: The role of smoking and cellulite is also questionable, there is no doubt that smoking is not good for health and that smoking does create a lot of medical problems. Whether it contributes to cellulite is guess work, as no one has studied it.

Stress: Others claim that both physical and emotional stress are contributors to cellulite. The stress is thought to affect the muscle and tissues of the body leading to accumulation of cellulite. Stress is the universal evil. One may be rich, poor, fat, thin, married, divorced or whatever, stress is always present to some degree. Yet not all individuals with stress have cellulite- so this is just another myth.

Medications: There is a lot of stuff on the internet about consuming medications and cellulite. Every medication has been blamed to cause cellulite. To what extent certain medications do cause cellulite is hard to know because most individuals take so many pills during their life time that a cause and effect is hard to know.

Oral contraceptives. There is no doubt that women who take the birth control pill do put on weight and some of it may be cellulite. Estrogen is known to cause fat deposition in the waist, hips and buttocks

Exercise: The role of exercise and health is undisputed. Exercise is good for overall health. However, lack of exercise does cause weight gain and little cellulite also. But one should note that cellulite is also common in thin people who exercise.

The real cause of cellulite is unknown and most likely is simply due to bad luck or bad genes.