This piece is intended as an analysis of the research underlying the claims made in the media reports. For a more expert and thorough view of the mechanics of breasts and exercise, see this companion guest post by Amy Reichelt.
There are currently numerous media reports suggesting that having large breasts prevents participation in physical activity. Or, to be more precise, prevents women from participating in physical activities such as sport and exercise. As a man, I can safely say my own large breasts prove more of a motivation to exercise, not less.
This announcement may come as a surprise to some, given how the presence of breasts usually results in a frenzy of activity. Any time an attractive female celebrity, inadvertently or otherwise, shows her naked breasts in a public forum they result in extensive coverage (pun most certainly intended), the result of a herculean effort by those in the media who can still come up with new ways to report the story “woman has breasts” as if it’s some shocking revelation.
And a quick read of the comments under any online article about a woman who has large breasts will reveal that she will most certainly be invited to partake in physical activity with a large number of commenters, some of which may last up to 30 seconds at a time. The woman in question is unlikely to accept any of these offers of course, but not necessarily due to her having breasts; her refusal is more likely to be due to concerns involving ethics/safety/hygiene/personal revulsion/all of these.
But the reports are based on a recent study by the researcher Emma Burnett of the University of Portsmouth Research Group in Breast Health, which suggests that breasts are a barrier to exercise. I would like to apologise in advance to Miss Burnett, because my writing this article for the Guardian about your research is probably going to play merry hell with Google searches for your work.
While the research does indeed provide data showing that some women do consider their breasts as something that prevents them from exercising, there are, as ever, many factors to consider that the more general media reportsare unlikely to cover.
One important observation is that the headlines and reports are claiming that “nearly one in five women” says her breasts stop her from engaging in physical activity. Phrased that way, that’s a considerable amount, approximately 10% of the UK population don’t exercise because they have breasts. However, a more careful look at the data reveals that this percentage is based on “17% of 249 women”. That’s 42 women who reported that their breasts deter them from physical activity. This is considerably fewer than “one in five” women overall, so jumping to extreme conclusions based on this is probably not a good … oh, too late.
Another factor that is worth noting is that the research specifies that there is no observed link between breast size and physical activity, meaning it’s not just larger-breasted women who are put off exercising. So exactly why so much coverage specifies that it’s big-breasted women who are put off is anyone’s guess. It’s almost like mentioning big breasts in a headline is more likely to get web traffic or something (he says condescendingly, in an article that’s mentioned breasts or boobs in almost every sentence so far).
There are many reasons why the presence of larger breasts can deter women from exercising, although it’s worth mentioning that the dimensions of the breasts aren’t “fixed”; they vary with diet and exercise too, unless they’re artificial. The fact that breast size isn’t linked to reluctance to exercise suggests the main reasons are more social or cultural. Women can only be too aware that their breasts get a lot of negative attention.
It’s also worth considering that, despite the declarations of the headlines, the original study shows that breasts are ranked 4th as a reason for not exercising, behind lack of energy, time constraints and health reasons. All of these reasons are perfectly valid, but clearly aren’t considered as important or interesting as “having boobs”.
Why would this be the case? The original authors do emphasise that the impact of breasts on exercising habits has largely been overlooked and based on anecdotal evidence, hence this study. They also do emphasise the importance of sports bras. This seems like a very helpful thing to do, but then the institute behind the research does offer extensive bra-testing services for commercial organisations, so this just may have something to do with it.
At the very least, let’s hope this isn’t just another example of “sexing-up science”.
Overall, it seems like another example of a limited study being given disproportionate and ill-informed media attention due to some crude association with the subject matter. And then someone like me moans about it, probably making the whole thing worse as a result.
Still, at the very least, this piece could frustrate a few questionable sorts who end up here after a Google search looking for something else altogether. You take your wins where you can.
Dean Burnett doesn’t have boobs but has been called one many times on Twitter, @garwboy
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