New Study Finds Wearing Bras May Be Harmful to Your Health

by Tess Duncan

Despite the stupid bra-burning feminist cliché, many of us are pretty grateful for some of the advantages of wearing a bra. They hide your nips from through-the-cloth display for all to see. If you’re big-breasted, they provide great support for all that weight. Even if you’ve got smaller boobs, it can still be uncomfortable to run without one. However, a French study has found that we might want to cut this piece out of our closets. The research showed that there are no medical benefits of wearing a bra and that it could be detrimental to breasts over long periods of time. Professor Jean-Denis Rouillon at the University of Franche-Comté in Besançon conducted the study and remarked, “Medically, physiologically, anatomically, the breast does not benefit from being deprived of gravity.”

The study analyzed over 300 women, ages 18 to 35. Over the course of 15 years, Rouillon measured and surveyed their breasts, noting changes in the body from the support of wearing the bra. He found that generally, women who did not use bras demonstrated favorable results, as their breasts produced more muscle tissue in order to support the breast naturally. Their nipples also acquired higher lift in relation to the shoulders. Rouillon’s research showed that the confinement of bras reduced tissue growth, and may have accelerated sagging in the breasts.

But Professor Rouillon does not necessarily believe this study’s sample represents the entire population, and does not recommend all women stop wearing bras. He also observed that it’s too late to throw out your bras if you’ve been wearing them for many decades.

I, for one, think that bras are still helpful for women, especially ones with large cup sizes. The study never mentions bra size, and very well could have included mostly small-boobed women. Will you be trashing your bras? Or have you never worn them to begin with for this very reason? Let us know what you think of these findings in the comments below!

Source: the Huffington Post

 Photos via Flickr and AdClassix.com

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