http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20725154/from/...15773?gt1=10412

SLOW NEWS DAY?

Bras Don't Support Bouncing Breasts, Study Finds

By Jeanna Bryner, LiveScience Staff Writer

posted: 11 September 2007 11:17 am ET

Whether women are said to be flat-chested or big-busted, ordinary bras fall short when it comes to supporting bouncing breasts, a new study claims.

And during exercise, women's breasts bounce more than previously estimated, moving a vertical distance of up to around eight inches (21 centimeters) compared with a past maximum measurement of six inches (16 centimeters).

The bouncing, in some cases with breasts weighing 20 pounds or more, can prove painful and damaging to the limited natural support system.

While brassieres have evolved throughout history from body-binding corsets to cleavage-enhancing "miracle" bras, only recently have researchers injected a dose of science into the design of undergarments that go beyond conferring a more "perky" look, the researcher says.

"It is only recently that bra design has turned to science," said study author Joanna Scurr, a biomechanics professor at the University of Portsmouth in England. "There was no research. It's like designing a car or kitchen equipment without first thinking 'what is the purpose of this?'"

Scurr will present her research this week at an annual meeting for the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences in Bath.

Breast biomechanics

Scurr recruited 70 women, including students and faculty from the University of Portsmouth, with bra sizes ranging from A-cup to extra-large (DD, E, FF, G, H, HH, J and JJ were included).

Each woman walked, jogged and ran while wearing different bra types. During the exercise, Scurr took biomechanical measurements, including the amount of breast movement in three directions: up-and-down, side-to-side and in-and-out.

During walking exercise, the women's breasts moved relatively the same amount in all directions. But when participants sped up to a jog or run, their breasts moved proportionally more in some directions than others: More than 50 percent of the total movement was in the up-down direction, 22 percent side-to-side and 27 percent in-and-out.

The overall pattern of the movement resembled a figure-8.

Bra basics

Typically, bras are designed to minimize up-and-down motion and not the other two dimensions of breast movement found in Scurr's study.

For all cup sizes, the so-called encapsulation bras in which each cup is separately molded provided the most support, beating out the compression bras, which limit only the up-and-down motion. The encapsulation bras limit some of the movement in the other directions as well.

In A-cup women, wearing a sports bra reduced overall breast movement by 53 percent, compared with a 55-percent reduction for G-cup women.

Smart support

A pair of D-cup breasts weighs about 15 to 23 pounds (7 to 10 kilograms).

But breasts have little natural support, Scurr says, although ligaments and the skin are thought to do most or all of the work. Breasts are made up of fat, milk ducts and connective tissues, such as collagen, ligaments and blood vessels. The momentum created by intense bouncing can stretch the breast's connective tissues, causing sagging and pain for many women.

An estimated 50 percent of women experience breast pain during exercise, Scurr claims.

Without appropriate bra support, some women abandon active sports due to breast pain, Scurr said.

"There really are women who want to do exercise but who don’t have the bras to cope," Scurr said. "I know of a 16-year-old who was selected to play basketball for the county, but she was told to give it up because she couldn’t find a bra that made playing possible."

Scurr is working with major bra manufacturers in Britain and globally to design a bra that minimizes breast movement in all three dimensions. The next bra, she hopes, will incorporate "smart materials" that can change to provide custom-made support for each woman and her activity level.

Edited September 12, 200718 yr by regfootball

BUT WHY STOP THERE?

http://www.livescience.com/mysteries/07091..._bust_size.html

this is what folks write about when they run out of stories to write about toyota.....

What is the Average American Woman's Bust Size?

By Jeanna Bryner

posted: 11 September 2007 04:26 pm ET

In the last 15 years, the average bust size has increased from 34B to 36C. Whether the lift is due to breast augmentation surgeries or a side-effect of expanding waistlines is not known.

Either way, from slinky to full-coverage undergarments, bras have graced the bodies of women since the 1800s. But modern bra sizing didn't come into fashion until 1928.

As if measured and weighed for a delectable recipe, breasts are sized in cups, with the following conversions:

A cup—8 fluid ounces (238 milliliters)

B cup—13 ounces (385 milliliters)

C cup—21 ounces (621 milliliters)

D cup—27 ounces (800 milliliters)

Bras must support a pair of breasts that can weigh just over a half pound (0.3 kilograms) to a whopping 20 pounds (9 kilograms).

Here are some other facts about one of your most intimate pieces of apparel, according to "Secret History of the Bra," which will air on National Geographic Channel starting Sept. 28:

A single bra weighs about 1.6 ounces (45 grams) and contains more than 40 components.

Caterpillar spit, dirt, crude oil and molten metal are several of the ingredients in a bra.

More than 4 million new bras are created on average every day.

Consumers spend around $16 billion a year on bras.

Each woman owns an average of about six bras.

IT'S ALL ABOUT RESEARCH!!!!!!!!!

I've done some research/work with vibration suppression systems... I wonder if they would apply here...

I've done some research/work with vibration suppression systems... I wonder if they would apply here...

as long as you can contain the movement in three directions, not just one, i think you may be on to something.

as long as you can contain the movement in three directions, not just one, i think you may be on to something.

I'd argue that most of the motion is in two directions: up-down and side-to-side. So, that should simplify the problem.

i'm at one of those points right now where i've got about a thousand breasts jokes popping in my head, and 80% of them are lame, so i think i will just let them pass and enjoy everyone else's comments........

and i know some folks have a third nipple kind of thing like chandler bing, but i think she's got eight of them. what's up with that?

Wow, the chick in blue looks very much like somebody I know...except without bigger...

Edited September 12, 200718 yr by mustang84

This isn't useless news. Quite the contrary, it deals with a very important issue.

One paragraph has more news and information than five of Jerry Flint's rants.

Caterpillar spit, dirt, crude oil and cobwebs are several of the ingredients in Jerry Flint.

You know Reg, what would be helpful here is some pics of the different cup sizes... you know; to facilitate relativity. At least A - DD. As CB said, it's a very important issue.

Caterpillar spit, dirt, crude oil and cobwebs are several of the ingredients in Jerry Flint.

You know Reg, what would be helpful here is some pics of the different cup sizes... you know; to facilitate relativity. At least A - DD. As CB said, it's a very important issue.

I agreee... this study interests me but clearly it is inconclusive.

I think we need to see a variety of subject matter in sizes

ranging from C to DD sizes, video documentation is a must!

I spent most of my childhood researching this very same subject every day after school when Baywatch was in syndication on a few of the local networks. Now where's my grant money!

Speaknig of grant money XP... how's that application to Congress going?

You know, asking for grant money to provide TIGHT WHIPS with a Twin-6

Packard, several V16 Cadillacs & two Duesenbergs (S & SJ roadsters) so

that we can do our ultra-low-emissions & optimal fuel economy study?

I hear Al Gore will speed along the paperwrok personally.

And during exercise, women's breasts bounce more than previously estimated, moving a vertical distance of up to around eight inches (21 centimeters) compared with a past maximum measurement of six inches (16 centimeters).

So there have been people charting the "bounciness" of breasts for a while? I know many, MANY people who have done this as a hobby, but there are professionals who do this for a living?

The more I think about this topic, the more I need a cigarette.

I'll be sure to try to post examples of the various sizes, sometime later tonight.

I just don't think I can take time off from work just today for this 'scientific research documentation'.

Wow, the chick in blue looks very much like somebody I know...except without bigger...

you know my mom?

What's to research? I have bigger breasts than both of them. Granted I could stand to lose a pound or forty, but that's neither here nor there.

Now reg, if better bras means another reason for women to go out exercising, that's more opportunities for breast connoisseurs like us to ogle. It's all good.

They should include men too in their research. Come up with "sports bra" for oversized men.

i'm at one of those points right now where i've got about a thousand breasts jokes popping in my head, and 80% of them are lame, so i think i will just let them pass and enjoy everyone else's comments........

and i know some folks have a third nipple kind of thing like chandler bing, but i think she's got eight of them. what's up with that?

I think those are accelerometers to measure the motion and displacements, but why on hips?

you know my mom?

So Satty's mom has an alternative?

On an instructive note: Solidwork in one of the presentations of the Solidworks 2005 software had demoed a company which used their software to design a sports bra. They did finite element analysis of the breast and the bra material to come up with ideal cup shape and sizes for various cups.

you know my mom?

Reg, I don't think your mom is 20 years old.

Boobs...for science!

...Right?

Reg, I don't think your mom is 20 years old.

you're right. hey, maybe you need to ask your friend to help you with some research.