The shape of things: women's cups runneth over

April 12, 2010 YOUNG women are carrying more on their shoulders than previous generations, and a lot of it has to do with the size of their breasts. As a nation we are getting bigger all over, but the number of ''average-sized'' women with above average bust lines has ballooned, with the most common bra cup size increasing from a B to a DD in the past 50 years. Women's health experts blame a range of environmental and hormonal factors, while lingerie specialists say some women have realised they have been wearing the wrong bra size for years. There has been a sharp increase in slim women, particularly teenagers, with very large chests up to a F or G cup, says a bra fitter, Esther Labi. ''A lot of teenagers wear a 10F - they're slim girls but they have boobs.'' Ms Labi's company, Storm in a D Cup, caters for well-endowed women who often have had an unsatisfying experience in a mainstream store. ''There is a frustration in clothes not being available when you're small in the body but big in the bust,'' she says. A Myer lingerie fitter, Carol Ferlito, says about half of all the customers she sees are bigger than a DD cup. According to official company data, plus-size bras account for one-third of total sales. Ms Ferlito regularly fits girls aged 11 and 12 in sizes D and DD, even for their first bra. ''The younger generation are developing a lot earlier. Sometimes mums don't realise how big their daughters are,'' she says. Bigger bust lines are typical in societies that have become more westernised, including in Asia, says Susan Davis, a professor in women's health at Monash University. The combination of early-onset puberty, delaying childbirth and an increase in overall body fat create a hormonal cocktail that is conducive to bigger breasts. ''If you go through puberty at age 12 you have a longer time for your breasts to get bigger. Fat tissue produces oestrogen which leads to increase in breast tissue.'' Professor Davis believes oestrogens in the food chain and exposure to chemicals, rather than synthetic hormones found in the pill and hormonal replacement therapies, are also causing women's chests to expand. And that excludes the thousands of Australian women who each year elect to have their breasts surgically enhanced. Ms Ferlito says she can spot a breast enlargement a mile away. ''They're difficult to fit, not a natural shape. The breast doesn't fall naturally into the bra,'' she says. http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/lifematters/the-shape-of-things-womens-cups-runneth-over-20100411-s0wb.html