Women's breasts get bigger

Almaty. January 31. Kazakhstan Today - Nutrition speacilalits in Britain say women's breasts become bigger due to increased level of exposre to oestrogen, the agency reports.

So, what's going on? Why are the nation's breasts getting bigger?

Dr Marilyn Glenville, a nutritionist specialising in women's health and hormones, says: 'It's clear that we're not just talking about fat, but increased levels of breast tissue, too, Daily Mail reported.

'So we have to look at what stimulates breast tissue growth - and that's oestrogen, the female sex hormone. Oestrogen is what changes our body shape during puberty.'

The link between increased oestrogen levels and bigger breasts is so clear that there are even 'breast-enhancing' supplements on the market - such as Perfect C Breast Enhancer capsules - containing ingredients such as fennel seed and fenugreek, which are said to have oestrogenic properties.

Dr Glenville says: 'It makes sense to look at the ways in which our exposure to all types of oestrogen - the hormone our own bodies produce and oestrogenic chemicals we come into contact with - has changed over the years.'

'Girls today reach puberty earlier than ever before, and are going on to have fewer children and breastfeeding for less time. As a result, we have far more periods than our ancestors would have had and we are exposed to more monthly surges of oestrogen, which stimulates ovulation.'

In addition, today's young women were born to the first generation of women on the contraceptive Pill. Early versions of the Pill contained far higher dosages of synthetic oestrogen than they do today, and little is known about the long-term impact of this increased hormone exposure on future generations.

So, could the changing shape of our breasts indicate an increased sensitivity to oestrogen?

Dr Glenville says: 'Pregnancy and breastfeeding have a protective effect against breast cancer because they control the hormones which stimulate the growth of new cells in breasts.

'But with more women today putting off pregnancy until later in life and having fewer children, they experience many more monthly cycles than previous generations did, and are exposed to more oestrogen.

HRT also tops up depleting oestrogen levels in menopausal women, who - like women on the Pill - often go up a cup-size or two when they begin a course of treatment.

But it's not just women on the Pill or HRT whose oestrogen levels, and cup-size, might have increased as a result.

In 2002, research published by the Environment Agency showed that an 'exquisitely potent' form of oestrogen - which is believed to have entered the rivers through the urine of Pill and HRT-users - was responsible for changing the sex of half of all the male fish in British lowland rivers, and could be contaminating the water supply.

Now, it has been suggested that the influence of these xenoestrogens (literally 'foreign oestrogens') could be responsible for the rapid decline in male sperm count and fertility.

'We can't assume these pollutants have no effect on us,' says Dr Glenville. 'There are many questions still to be answered, but if xenoestrogens are potentially responsible for declining male fertility, they are potentially affecting women, too - and the proof could be in our bras.'

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