 Cellulite is caused by the protrusion of subcutaneous fat into the dermis creating a bumpy layer within the skin layers. The term cellulite originated in France more than 150 years ago and began appearing in English language publications in the late 1960s.
Descriptive names for it include ‘orange peel skin’, ‘cottage cheese syndrome’, ‘the mattress phenomenon’, and ‘hail damage’. Alternative technical terms are, adiposis edematosa, dermopanniculosis deformans, status protrusus cutis and gynoid lipodystrophy. (Cellulite is completely unrelated to cellulitis, which is an infection of the skin and underlying connective tissue).
Cellulite is most commonly found on the abdomen, thighs, buttocks and upper arms, but can occur in other places.
Between 85% and 98% of mature women show some degree of cellulite. It is prevalent in women of all races but is more common in Caucasian women than in Asian women. There appears to be a hormonal component to its presentation which explains why it is more common in women rather than men, though it is not exclusive to women. Cellulite is not related to body size; average and thin people get it as well as the overweight and obese.
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