Cellulite And Weight Loss - What's the Connection

When you lose weight, you'd probably expect that you'd lose (or at least reduce the appearance of) your cellulite, too. But, unfortunately, that's often not the case. What gives?

John Layke M.D., a board-certified plastic surgeon and practitioner at the Beverly Hills Plastic Surgery Group, explains that cellulite is caused by fibrous bands that attach to the underside of the skin, causing the dimpling (think of a pin cushion—it's like the pins are the fibrous band).

Cellulite is incredibly common—studies estimate that 80 to 90 percent of women have it. But what causes it varies person to person, says Jennifer Caudle, D.O., a family physician and Associate Professor at Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine. She says that how much cellulite a person has depends on a number of factors, including genetics, age, skin thickness, sex, and the amount of fat on the body.

Caudle notes that people of all weights and sizes can and do have cellulite. Case in point? Back in August, actress Hilary Duff hit back at body-shamers who criticized her for having cellulite. "My body has given me the greatest gift of my life: Luca, 5 years ago. I'm turning 30 in September and my body is healthy and gets me where I need to go," Hilary wrote in the caption.