Forget Breastfeeding, Exercise is Responsible for the Sag!

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Friday, January 13, 2006

A couple of weeks ago, I sparked some debate on the Lactivist blog when I posted about Gwyneth Paltrow's comments about having surgery to correct the "sag" that resulted from breastfeeding her daughter Apple. This week, it's the BBC weighing in with news of a study that warns the real risk for sagging breasts is exercising without a proper sports bra.

From the BBC article:


They found breasts moved in a 3D figure of eight and that uncontrolled movement strained fragile tissues and ligaments.

The study suggested as a woman runs a mile, her breasts bounced 135m.

The report found each breast moved independently of the body by an average of 9cm for every step taken on the treadmill.

With the average breast weighing between 200 and 300 grams, this movement puts great stress on the breast's fragile support structure - the outer skin and connective tissues known as Cooper's ligaments.


The study found that wearing a "regular" bra reduced bounce by 38% but went on to note that a quality sports bra could reduce bounce by 78%.

So apparently we all need to stop blaming breastfeeding and start blaming bad bras for sag... Whew! Thank goodness I'm not a big exerciser! ;)

Labels: Stats and Studies

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