Hip Dips: Why You Get Them & How to Get Rid?

The “hip dip” trend has been gathering steam in recent years but has become even more of a physical fixation during the lockdown, with the hashtag #hipdips used more than 50,000 times on Instagram alone.

We’re all for fixating on our lower halves in the right way, including building up that booty with glute exercises. But with the internet trying to make hip dips occur, all we really want to do is wiggle around to Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie.” That aside, read on for all of the hippy, dippy truth.

What are Hip Dips?

‘Hip dips are naturally occurring, inward curves. Naturally occurring.

Hip dips are the “colloquial term that refers to the inward depression or curves on the side of your body, just below the hip bone. These indentations are also known as “violin hips” or, in scientific speak, “trochanteric depressions.”

Many are calling them the new “thigh gap,” a 2010s obsession that has continued for the past decade. “Interest in [hip dips] has increased significantly in the last few months, noting that Google searches doubled in lockdown.

What Causes Hip Dips?

‘Hip dips are caused by the form of your pelvis. Although not everyone will have noticeable hip dips, if reduced to a skeleton, all of us would have an indentation where the hip bone completes the top of the thigh. Hip dips are a normal part of your body’s structure,’ he describes.

We’ll say it louder for the people in the back: hip dips are a normal part of your body’s design. 

Are Hip Dips Good or Bad?

A common misconception is that hip dips (or a lack of hip dips) are a symbol of how healthy you are. As we’ve said, hip dips are associated with the shape of your bones… Something, it won’t amaze you to know, that cannot be changed.

Because of the interpretation of pelvis shapes, your hips may look different from someone else’s — and that includes your hip dips, too.

Are Hip Dips Normal?

‘Hip dips are not a symbol of being healthy, unhealthy, overweight or underweight,’ says Wiener. ‘Although the amount of body fat you have can make hip dips more noticeable and can be the result of maintaining a higher level of muscle mass, it’s important to remember that hip dips are a part of your bone structure and, while you can improve your body shape through exercise and diet, you cannot change your bone structure.’

If you are worried about carrying a harmful level of body fat, there are safe ways to lose weight, bringing your fat to muscle ratio into a healthier balance.

Hip Dips vs. Love Handles

Much higher than hip dips, ‘love handles’ (see also: muffin top… WHO comes up with these names?), as they’re so fondly known, is a term directing to fat located on the sides of the abdomen and not connected to your bone structure. They can be connected to genetics, which dictates where we store fat in the body.

Is it Possible to Get Rid of Hip Dips?

Before we go any other, we’d like to repeat ourselves once again: there is absolutely nada wrong with hip dips, and while exercising to build muscle mass and lose body fat can help minimize their appearance, it won’t make them completely go away. That’s something to accept.

What you can do is concentrate on exercises that work multiple lower body muscle groups (like squats and lunges) and sub-in-isolation exercises (e.g. fire hydrants and clams) where necessary.

However, make sure you concentrate on strengthening your entire lower body – not just zeroing in on your glutes. There’s more to life than hip dips, and that goes for your fitness, as well.

Should You Worry About Hip Dips?

In a word: no.

‘Obsessing over any part of your body, particularly those which cannot be changed, is potentially very damaging to your health,’ says Wiener. ‘It’s important for women to try to love their bodies, rather than being always determined to change them.’

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