Last year, a researcher found that bras reduce breast tissue strength in young women, causing their breasts to sag more over time. Unlike earlier studies, this one had a decent sample size (n=330) and good longitudinal followup (15 years). Notable results:
* Women who did not wear bras had a 7 millimeter lift as measured from their nipples each year.
* Bra-less women had firmer breasts and their stretch marks faded.
* There was also no evidence that bras reduced back pain.
This reminds me of how 150 years ago, many physicians still “felt corsets were a medical necessity because of women’s biology and the needs of civilized order.”
Once it became obvious that corsets were incredibly bad for women’s health, fashion designers moved on and created the modern bra. It’s somewhat telling that it took researchers another 80 years to check if bras offered any of the health benefits that marketers in the multi-billion dollar industry had been claiming (e.g., back support, sag prevention, etc), only to find that the answer was once again “No, and bras are detrimental too… just like corsets”.
Of course, the intuitive need for bras among current users is strong. The longer a woman has been supporting her breasts using bras instead of her own strength, the weaker the tissue needed for natural support becomes, creating a vicious cycle of increased “need”. It’s the same as with other cripplingly addictive medical products, like medicated lip balms — which create increased need for more lip balm by sealing lips inside thin layers of moisterizer but with added drying agents like menthol and camphor that leave their users worse off than before they used them in the first place. Addicts then need daily re-application to get even temporary relief in their downward spiral of drying lips (that is caused by the product itself).
And before anyone suggests that “Tribal African Women” Are Proof That Breasts without Bras Sag, it should be noted that actual researchers who have studied this explain it by way of multiple pregnancies and heredity, not lack of bras.
See on www.cbsnews.com
21 Responses to “Younger women should stop wearing bras”
December 23
Laura GoossensYes, yes, and yes! Cycling weight loss and weight gain is also a huge contributor to loss of elasticity in breast tissue
December 23
Andrew RettekI saw this in april. I couldn’t find the study then and it looks suspicious. Do you have any better info than CBS?
December 23
Louie HelmThat’s correct. I looked for the study for awhile but it’s not released yet. It does conform with intuition (if I put my arm in a cast, it would weaken too) and with previous research like http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2092072
December 23
Ben WoosleyDef agree with the intuition, historical perspective, etc. I imagine it will take some time to know the whole truth given all the factors involved (body composition, breast morphology, genetics, childbirth, bra practice), and timeline to observe results. Will be good to see more data released on the subject.
December 23
Steven Andy SaamFinally a study I can get behind.
December 23
Andrea PasswaterI wonder how strength training affects this as well. It seems like bench press and overhead press would strengthen those same muscles such that you actually don’t get extra benefit from going bra-less. I did briefly try to find a diagram of exactly which muscles are used to hold the breasts up so I could be sure, but no luck.
December 23
Jai WithaniThe evidence of lip balm being detrimental seems…really weak. Your citation on the matter also lacks a certain level of credibility.
December 23
Louie HelmIt’s mainly *medicated* lip balms that are the problem. Alcohol, menthol, phenol, and other drying agents are added to lip balms despite being drying agents because many people like the tingle and think it means the lip balm is doing something helpful. So companies put it in their products.
Even doctors know that using these products daily is degenerative and wrong. It’s just like how people put Q-tips all the way in their ears, even though that is also degenerative, wrong, and the most common usage of the product.
December 23
Ben WoosleyAndrea, I think it’s just pectoralis major. But there are other tissues involved, most importantly the cooper’s ligaments, that can atrophy as well and won’t likely be helped by exercise. https://www.google.com/search?q=cooper's+ligaments&tbm=isch
December 23
Alli Smith“Study shows women who don’t feel the need to wear a bra have perkier breasts!”? Or…”some women with small perky breasts don’t feel the need to wear a bra!”?
I know mine fluctuate like mad through my cycle. When they are small I often don’t wear a bra, and when they are big, its uncomfortable not to.
December 23
Andrea PasswaterBen Woosley, thanks for that. Hm, I wonder how much time you should spend braless in order to avoid atrophy. My issue is, I would love to go braless all the time, but often you can tell, and it’s not really socially appropriate. NuBra is a good option, but they are quite expensive and only have so many wears before they stop sticking. Though, I guess double-sided tape could fix that.
December 23
Ben WoosleyFWIW, Wikipedia says I’m wrong about the Cooper’s ligaments, but I’m not convinced: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooper%27s_ligaments#Relationship_to_sagging
There are some other alternatives to NuBra, e.g. http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/apparel/2364769011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_a_1_5_last
December 23
Allison Laurel ReaPeople are allowed to have aesthetic preferences, dogg
December 23
Alli SmithIt is at least useful to know how to optimize for whatever you’re optimizing for.
December 23
Lydia IngramInteresting! But I’m with Alli – sometimes it’s painful NOT to wear one.
December 23
Ben WoosleyBlaine, that’s 7mm / year, or ~4 inches in 15 years.
December 23
Brittany JencksOh, and I forgot to mention- many of the terrible health problems that women who wore corsets suffered from are actually symptoms of Mercury poisoning. Mercury was a common ingredient in beauty remedies.
December 23
Nina AnissimovOh snap, Brittany, I’m a huge fan. Your blog is the reason I got re-sized. Thanks for contributing to the discussion 🙂
December 23
Louie HelmGreg and Brittany: Thanks for chiming in. I do agree with you both re: sizing.
December 23
Nina AnissimovLouie, projection and root size is determined by genetics (some examples: http://i.imgur.com/1GZ7tSx.jpg). For women with relatively narrow roots, medium/strong projection, and medium/large size, no amount of cooper ligament strengthening will make daily activities (nevermind running) comfortable while braless. The reason being that these boobs bounce/flop around with movement, which is uncomfortable, distracting, &/or painful. Even if the ligaments strengthened, the breast tissue won’t get any more shallow (closer to chest), perky, or firm.
I’m sure the study has its merits for shallow-rooted, low projection, and generally small breasted women, but it’s impractical for everyone else. Also, a true “D” cup on a woman in healthy BMI range is relatively small (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o0HBMkVz3cQ/UAdpYCEkjmI/AAAAAAAAACI/Sz_uGfihmmU/s1600/Cup+size+different.jpg) for such a woman, running braless may well not be an issue.
December 23
Nikki_OlsonRandom insufficient comment on old news?… This was actually covered, and thoroughly so on Skeptically Speaking a while ago.