Cellulite refers to the change in skin appearance resulting in dimples and nodules resembling orangle-peel often in the abdomen, gluteal, and thighs of women. Cellulite affects women more than men and is commonly regarded as a normal variant of skin as opposed to a disease. Human skin has suspensary ligaments that hold the skin close to the body. When there is increased deposition of subcutaneous fat, the skin swells and bulges while the suspensary ligaments remain taught causing the characteristic dimpled appearance. Women predominately deposit fat in their gluteal and thigh region where the skin is generally thicker and require the suspensary ligaments to be more taught. Men, on the other hand, predominately deposit fat in their abdominal region and therefore are more apt to develop cellulite there. There is also believed to be a hormonal cause to the development of cellulite because it predominately affects women.
There exist many cosmetic products aimed to eliminate cellulite but their effectiveness is mediocre at best. The single most effective treatment regimen remains weight loss with diet and exercise.