Is Wearing a Bra Bad for You?
By Lauren Le Vine, REDBOOK.
Breaking news from France: That bra you're wearing? It might be having the exact opposite effect on your breasts that you'd want. Professor Jean-Denis Rouillon, who has a background in sports medicine, conducted a 15-year study to analyze whether wearing brassieres (to get French and fancy about it) actually makes breasts sag more. His findings: "Medically, physiologically, anatomically - the breast derives no benefit from being denied gravity. On the contrary, it becomes saggier with a bra."
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Don't go burning your bras yet, though. Although one participant reported that she breathed more easily and had better posture and less back pain after she ditched her boob cage, the study's findings aren't quite universally applicable. "It all depends on the structure of each breast. An overweight, 45-year-old woman with three kids has no business not wearing a bra," the professor bluntly noted.
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So what have we learned here? If you're a gamine French fille with perky boobs who doesn't feel totally exposed going braless, keep on doing your thing, because gravity isn't gonna get you as previously believed. If you're a person who likes the additional layer of protection in a cold office, but you also fall into the "doesn't really need one" camp, maybe try a softer, less structured bralette. And if the idea of walking outside without your breasts properly holstered gives you night terrors about them reaching your knees as a septuagenarian, then please do keep wearing a supportive undergarment.
Might we suggest one of these editor-tested (and approved) winners in our search for the World's Best Underthings?
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