US women have the biggest breasts in the world – study reveals (the link is now a 404)
"Researchers analysed the breast size data of nearly 400,000 women born in 108 countries, comparing the mean volume and cup size of women from each nation...
Researchers excluded women with breast implants, those who were pregnant, breastfeeding or had been pregnant in the past 12 months from the study. “The analysis of the results also showed that the correlation between a woman's body weight and the size of her breasts is quite different from one country to another,” the study added.
“A typical woman born in the US or Canada has a very large breast volume regardless of her body weight”...
Breast size of women in different countries – top 15
US (Caucasian)
Canada
US (Non-Caucasian)
Ireland
Poland
United Kingdom
The Netherlands
Colombia
Iceland
Venezuela
Turkey
Australia
New Zealand
Norway
Germany
Breast size of women in different countries – bottom 15
The Philippines
Malaysia
Bangladesh
Somoa
Solomon Islands
Taiwan
Vietnam
Thailand
Laos
Mozambique
Singapore
Sri Lanka
Indonesia
Papua New Guinea
Zimbabwe"
From the journal article,
SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS REVEALS MAJOR DIFFERENCES IN THE BREAST SIZE OF WOMEN IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES (The Journal of Female Health Sciences: JFH.TD.13.098):
"Women born in Africa and Asia, particularly in the East Asian countries, have the smallest breast volumes"
"The finding was in line with the previous study observations regarding the fact that women are aware of the positive correlation between their breast size and their prestige in relation to other persons."
"The five breast shape categories used in the study were: “hemispherical” i.e., “round”, “pear-shaped”, “hanging”, “hanging with narrow tip”, “hanging with wide tip” i.e., “saggy" and "flat""
""The statistical analysis revealed also that the average position of nipple of North American women differs significantly from the average nipple position of women born in the other parts of the world. The nipple of the average U.S. woman is pointing up with an angle of 24 degrees to the horizontal and it is placed 3.84 cm above the center of gravity of her breasts. Among women in the other countries the nipple is on the average placed 2.42 cm below the center of gravity and it makes an angle of-14 degrees to the horizontal"
"In the U.S.A. and Canada also sporty and fit women have very large breasts compared to women born in the other countries."
"The kinetic forces generated by the movement of a U.S. women's breasts are nearly 20 times higher than the forces generated by the breasts of a Filipino women"
"Virtually a bra for the Asian markets is to be considered more like an esthetic product, while a bra made for the U.S. market must be an advanced supportive product in order to meet the customer expectations."
"A woman's breast size correlates positively with her sexual attractiveness and social prestige"
"It has been shown that young women who come to the United States as exchange students have a very high incidence of mental problems related to their body image and self-esteem. In-depth interviews of the affected exchange students have revealed that one of the key reasons for the problems is that they feel anxiety, when they realize that their breasts are so substantially smaller in size than the breasts of U.S females."
"A number of previous studies have concluded that differences in breast size have a significant mental impact in adolescent girls, affecting self-esteem, emotional well-being and social functioning."
"The incidence of self-esteem related problems among the young first time travelers could probably be reduced by informing them properly about the geographically based differences in the breast size, before they leave their home country."
Learning points:
- A UK/European/Australian AA is a French/Italian A
- In the US cup sizes start at A - equivalent to UK/European/Australian C and French/Italian D
- There's an International Breast Shape Standard (IBSS):
IBSS International Breast Shape Standard - Breast Types Size
"IBSS Standard is the most widely established international reference system for classification of female breasts. The Standard is widely used in industrial R&D as well as academic research.
IBSS was originally created for the commercial needs of the lingerie industry as an effort to align product sizing over the country borders. In contrast to conventional bra labelling standards, IBSS offers a globally comparable basis for product development and international trade.
IBSS is not only an accurate methodlodgy to define the volume of female breasts in an internationally comparable way, but the Standars also covers a number of parameters related to the shape, consistency and physiology of breasts. This is of substantial value for the market adapted product development like design and dimensioning of garment, medical and personal devices and other products.
The Standard divides breasts into 16 different breast types based on clearly defined morphological and physiological characteristics."