Rotund conceptions
To put it in a most unembellished fashion, a straightforward answer to what is cellulite is those lumpy deposits of body fat causing cosmetic appeals warp from a mild to a severe degree.
This is a para-physiological (caused by certain physiological disorders but doesn’t affect the physiological system directly or indirectly) problem, giving rise to cosmetic issues.
Currently, more than 2/3rd of the entire female population are sufferers and retain the inferiority complex mostly regarding their lower limbs, their abdomens and the pelvic regions.
However, cellulite doesn’t stay confined only within the areas aforementioned; it may collect at any part of the skin. It’s just that the thighs, the stomach and the butt collect them more.
The dimples on the skin are subjected to an age-old debate; it is about cellulite being a real disorder or not. The arguments have made clear that cellulite is more of a description of a condition rather than being a specific object and the medical opinion that prevails is cellulite is just a normal skin condition in humans – men and women alike. But the most hilarious amongst all answers till date to the question “What is cellulite?” is undoubtedly:
“An inappropriate term used by women to describe curves they judge to be too plump and not very aesthetic”. [Franchi J, Pellicier F, André P, Schnebert S.; Laboratoires R&D-LVMH branche parfums et cosmétiques]
Microanatomy: The science behind cellulite formation
Understanding cellulite properly requires a biological understanding of the female form. This is because almost all physical transformations are gender specific.
Certain fluctuations inflicted by the menstrual cycles in women also relate significantly to the overt manifestations of the cellulite deposits.
It’s not only the overweight or the pleasantly plumps that gather cellulite. Women with normal (and below that) weight have been found to suffer from it.
An alteration between the fat and muscle ratio of the body may afflict anyone with a disrupted hormonal balance, disturbing the microcirculation of the body in the long run and ending up generating Cellulite. A Bio-Impedance examination is the only way to detect such disorders.
However, now a bit on how fat is distributed in a woman’s body. Estrogen (female steroid sex hormones that are secreted by the ovary and responsible for typical female sexual characteristics) makes fat accumulate regionally; to be more specific, under the skin of the thighs, stomach and butt, contrary to the way fat gets distributed in the male body.
Estrogen as it is increases the storage of fat and paves the way for cellulite formation, triggering an increase in regional fat.
The reason men do not usually build up cellulite is due to the difference in the fat (adipose) tissue. They lack the rather fine and straight oriented septum (a dividing partition between two tissues or cavities in the form of small, fibrous strings; these separate the fat cells); instead, they are thicker, resistant and present an oblique orientation.
This is a characteristic that bars the adipose tissues from expanding towards the surface (the skin) and directs them towards deep within the muscles.
Cellulite: 5 stages of formation
We have discussed about the role of hormones in the formation of cellulite; now, it’s time to know about its stages of buildup. Hormonal imbalances (more precisely, a lack of estrogen) thin the female skin, weakening the collagen and the elastin, which ruptures the septum and pushes bundles of fat towards the surface. An algorithmic presentation shall be:
1. Diminished blood circulation begins.
2. Veins and capillaries start rupturing in a progressive manner.
3. Increasing pressure in the tissues cause leakage to occur.
4. Fat tissues swell due to the accumulation of humor.
5. Thick adipose tissues start forming because of the hardened septum, which lack a proper circulation and trigger the formation of steatomas.
Bumping against the bruits on Cellulite
Now that we have had glimpses on the basic answers to the perpetual question of “What is Cellulite?” and what triggers its formation, we may start looking at other factors responsible and it’s high time to see into the clandestine relation between cellulite and acquired fat.
It is more like a generalized theory that fat tissues are the only things responsible for the formation of cellulite. Agreed that accumulated fat plays an important role, but it shall be utterly wrong to hold only the fat tissues as the culprit.
Cellulite occurs when fat accumulates more than it is supposed to at a particular area of the body and improper food habits have got little to do with it. Blame it on the wrong hormonal actions; it’s them that drive the excess fat to the preferred areas.
The excess fat squeezes into the capillaries through the lymphatic fluids (a thin coagulable fluid similar to plasma but comprising the white blood cells or lymphocytes and chyle, which is a milky fluid or humor consisting of lymph and emulsified fats; formed in the small intestine during digestion of ingested fats; is conveyed to the blood stream by lymphatic vessels), resulting in accumulations once the lymphatic fluids get over-saturated.
This is a process that concerns a part of our circulatory system; giving rise to the belief that cellulite is the harbinger of cardio-vascular troubles. So here is the truth:
The former belief of circulatory alteration being the base for the formation of cellulite was borne out of the fact that a lot of people with normal weight also exhibited cellulite.
Researches conducted through micro-perfusion methods in the United States, in Belgium and in the Northern Europe have proved fat tissue circulation doesn’t affect the arterial blood flow; neither does it alter the blood vessel constitution.
Instead, it is an increase in volume of these fat tissues that compresses the lymphatic and micro-circulatory ducts; with aids from unbalanced hormonal actions, it also gives rise to edema i.e. swelling from excessive accumulation of watery fluid in cells, tissues, or serous cavities.
This further increases the tissue volumes and the compression on the blood vessels. The additional fat load; however, doesn’t receive an extra supply of blood and a behavior similar to lacked circulation is thus noticed and the area confronts a reduced metabolism, giving rise to colder zones. A Thermography is thus the only way for determining the till what degree the fat tissues have compromised with Cellulite.
Lastly, it is about the muscular flaccidity that invariably shows up on the context of what is cellulite? It is nothing but an extension of the disharmony present within the body (BDS or Body Disharmony Syndrome).
Muscular flaccidity and cellulite have no direct entente, though they frequently show up together. If you have followed the provided facts properly, it shall only take a meager amount of deductive logic to solve this dilemma.
You may use caffeine to charge up your brain cells for that; it shall help you putting the facts down in a better manner and fight the cellulite that has driven you till here.
cellulite treatment | what is cellulite | what causes cellulite | cellulite exercises | cellulite cream | cellulite diet | anti cellulite foods | cellulite and liposuction | cellulite home remedies | cellulite massager | mesotherapy cellulite reduction