A study performed by a breast biomechanics research team at the University of Portsmith in the UK has revealed that nine out of ten women may be damaging their breasts by wearing the wrong size bra. This affects literally millions of women, according to the study.

Scientists in the Department of Sport and Exercise Science say that "fragile ligaments" may become irreparably stretched, and that the damage may come due to ignorance or embarrassment. Under the leadership of Dr. Joanna Scurr, the team tested 50 different bra designs over the last three years on hundreds of women. They found that during exercise, breasts move up to 21cm (that's a little over eight inches to you Yankees), and they move up and down, side to side, and in and out. Most sports bras are designed to only allow vertical movement.

Style and Stigma

Wendy Hedger, a researcher with Dr. Scurr, says that most women have a certain preference when they choose a bra based on the style, and won't wear anything else. "In sports bras…many women won't buy a bra that resembles their everyday bra and does up at the back – they think if it can't be pulled over their heads like crop top, then it's not a real sports bra," she says. Hedger states further that there is a certain social stigma about bra size, and that most women don't want to be seen in a bra that might be considered too big or too small, and that they'll buy a bra they consider "normal" even if it doesn't fit right. Others simply don't realize they are wearing the wrong bra size because they have always worn that same size – even if it's wrong.

The breast biomechanics team has helped to design a new sports bra for women who play high-impact sports. They have also worked with a New Zealand bra manufacturer overhaul their existing high-impact bra, and will go on sale in Europe sometime this summer.

It is important for women who have had a breast augmentation to be fitted for the right size bra. While many people may find this embarrassing, the Portsmith study has shown just what kind of damage can occur.

If you are interested in breast augmentation, or are curious about what size bra you should be wearing, please contact an experienced cosmetic surgeon in your area.

Due to the proliferation of websites that promote anorexia and bulimia, French legislators have proposed a bill that will punish magazines or websites with three years in prison and over $70,000 in fines if they continue to show the benefits of the disorders. Since 2000, over 400 sites promoting "ana" and "mia" have been identified. These sites offer tips on bingeing, crash dieting, vomiting, and hiding weight loss from parents, many of whom are already concerned about their children.

Sponsored by Valerie Boyer, a conservative, the measure was also backed by Roselyne Bachelot, France's health minister. Measures of this caliber have been proposed since Brazilian model, Ana Carolina Reston, died of anorexia in 2006. However, this is the one of the more strongly worded measures to come before the lower house of Parliament. The bill makes illegal to "provoke a person to seek excessive weight loss by encouraging prolonged nutritional deprivation that would have the effect of exposing them to risk of death or endangering health."

Blame

Ms. Boyer blamed the "sociocultural and media environment" for favoring anorexic and bulimic behavior, and believes it necessary to act. This was criticized by the French Federation of Couture. Federation president, Didier Grumbach, states, "Never will we accept in our profession that a judge decides if a young girl is skinny or not skinny….That doesn't exist in the world, and it will certainly not exist in France." The French Socialist Party has also complained that the bill, which they believe is vaguely worded, was rushed through the lower house by President Nicolas Sarkozy's political party, the U.M.P.

Two Cents

While it is certainly a personal choice on how much weight one wants to lose, promoting anorexia and bulimia as a lifestyle seems at least misguided, and at most, possibly criminal. Society seems to already be reeling with the fact that so many young people are seeking cosmetic surgery, and this is obviously taking the urge to look "perfect" in a horrible new direction. If you have ever known anyone who has suffered anorexia or bulimia, then you know it isn't something to be promoted. It's an illness, and those with it need professional medical care. More often than not, those who suffer with these illnesses wish they could stop after they've done it for a while.

Teenage girls are more likely to succumb to the temptation to binge or starve in an effort to be as thin as waifish fashion models, just as they are more likely to seek out cosmetic surgeons. However, breast implants on an anorexic or bulimic frame 1) would look really bad, and 2) would never happen since your health is evaluated before having any type of cosmetic procedure. You can't have it both ways.

Perhaps the French could take a page from American cosmetic surgically crazed kids and go under the knife rather than starve themselves in private. After all, the end result is the hope to be seen in a positive light. And no one likes it when someone smells like vomit.

If you are interested in cosmetic surgery, please contact an experienced cosmetic surgeon in your area.