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"We wear bras because...well, ladies, why do we wear bras? Because according to this 15-year study, bras don&amp;#x27;t help relieve back pain, and they can actually make breasts saggier. Professor Jean-Denis Rouillon and researchers from the University of Besancon in eastern France spent more than a decade (since 1997) measuring the breast changes in 330 volunteers, ages 18 to 35. They found that the nipples of women who didn&amp;#x27;t wear bras lifted upward an average of 7 millimeters (a little more than 1/4 inch)&amp;amp;#8212;and the breasts even became firmer. Says Rouillon: &amp;quot;Medically, physiologically, anatomically&amp;amp;#8212;breasts gain no benefit from being denied gravity.... On the contrary, they get saggier with a bra. [When in a bra], supporting tissues will not grow and even they will wither and the breast will gradually degrade.&amp;quot; I&amp;#x27;m curious what criteria were used to measure &amp;quot;firmer breasts&amp;quot;&amp;amp;#8212;the study isn&amp;#x27;t online yet&amp;amp;#8212;but let&amp;#x27;s press on! The researchers caution that, if you&amp;#x27;ve worn bras for decades or more, you shouldn&amp;#x27;t strip &amp;#x27;em off&amp;amp;#8212;going braless would probably not be of much benefit at this point. Also, they say that their results are preliminary and apply to a small sample size&amp;amp;#8212;every woman&amp;#x27;s breasts are different, and some may simply find wearing a bra more comfortable. According to one woman in the study (who has gone braless for two years): &amp;quot;There are multiple benefits: I breathe more easily, I carry myself better, and I have less back pain.... At first, I was a little reluctant to the idea of running without a bra, but I got started and after five minutes, I had no trouble at all.&amp;quot; OK, so&amp;amp;#8212;this running-without-a-bra thing. Is that something you feel comfortable doing? And what do you think of this study overall? When do you go braless? More about breast health: * Gabrielle Union and Planned Parenthood&amp;#x27;s breast cancer initiative * The world&amp;#x27;s largest bra (wait until you see it!) * Is sleeping on your side making your boobs look...old? Photo: Thinkstock "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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