THE DEVIL IS THE DETAILS

Of course I have been following the news out of France avidly. As you would naturally expect. The enlightened man does not shy away from knowledge, no matter how abstruse.
Some people have called me a 'Renaissance man'.
Flattery, perhaps, but not incorrect.
At least not entirely.


CITE:
Wearing a bra does nothing to decrease back pain, and the support offered by a brassiere actually encourages the breasts to sag -- [cut] -- a 15-year study led by Jean-Denis Rouillon, from the University of Besançon in eastern France, found that "bras are a false necessity.”

"Medically, physiologically, anatomically — breasts gain no benefit from being denied gravity. On the contrary, they get saggier with a bra," Rouillon, a sports science expert, told France Info radio.

Rouillon spent a decade and a half measuring the changes in breasts of hundreds of women using a slide rule and caliper at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire in Besançon. The participants were all between the ages of 18 and 35.

Of the braless women, the researchers concluded that "on average their nipples lifted on average seven millimeters in one year in relation to the shoulders."
END CITE.

[SOURCE: http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/natural-beauty-fashion/stories/bras-dont-actually-work-says-french-study.]


The key terms are 'ligaments' and 'elastin'.
Intriguing words, words of magic!

On the other hand, some studies have indicated that breast movement can cause pain, by pulling at the skin and stretching ligaments, particularly during exercise. For women who jog or play volleyball, 'compression bras' reduce discomfort in smaller breasts, while 'encapsulation bras' are best for bigger breasts. Different functions demand different materials.
Breast happiness is enhanced by sound engineering.


Leading research in this expanding field is by women and Frenchmen.

Women (some of them English), and Frenchmen!


I am somewhat surprised; I would have thought that the Japanese, and butch manly white American sportsfans, would have been the keenest researchers, given their biases and queer obsessions.

I am neither a woman, nor a Frenchman.

But I am quite fascinated.

Can't help it.




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