French Breast Study




(Besançon, France)

The results of a mammoth 15-year study led by professor Jean-Denis Rouillon, from the University of Besançon in eastern France, are finally in and it looks like conventional wisdom about bras and back pain has been way off the mark.

According to Rouillon, a sports science expert, the lesson to be learned from the preliminary results of his marathon experiment is 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,” Professor Rouillon told France Info radio on Wednesday.

Using a slide rule and caliper, Rouillon spent years carefully measuring changes in the orientation of breasts belonging to 130 women, at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (University Hospital) in Besançon.

Frankly, I suggest the study produced an unremarkable result after 15 years of female breast measurements. Of course, that doesn't mean it shouldn't be done.

Another result of the study, curiously unreported, is the determination that Professor Jean-Denis Rouillon has the softest hands.