Girls should have to wear sports bras during PE lessons, a scientist says

Girls should have to wear sports bras during PE lessons, a scientist says.
Dr Joanna Scurr said everyday bras do not provide enough  support, which can lead to pain and even sagging.
An expert in breast movement, she said sports bras should be a compulsory part of PE kit, being as essential as mouthguards worn for hockey or rugby.

Bra benefits: Treadmill tests have revealed breasts move both side to side and up and down during exercise, putting strain on the tissue

She warned that many girls suffer pain during games sessions as their normal underwear does not give enough support.

This is one reason so many girls dread PE and may try to avoid it with sick notes, said Dr Scurr, of the Department of Exercise and Sports Science at the University of Portsmouth.

Wearing a sports bra will prevent pain and reduce sagging later in life, the scientist believes

‘Many young women don’t understand the implications of making the wrong choice when it comes to support,’ she said.
‘Our research demonstrates that the correct bra reduces breast movement and associated pain and may reduce the risk of long-term sag.
‘Giving girls the right information at an early age can improve their body image and even encourage greater take-up of sport at school.
‘Mouthguards are a compulsory part of PE kit for children when playing hockey and rugby and I want to see sports bras for girls become the same.’
Dr Scurr has carried out numerous studies using motion sensors and said that those with small cup sizes suffer as much pain during sport as those with more ample cleavages.
‘Crucially, breasts move as much during slow jogging as they do at maximum sprint speed,’ she added.

‘This makes wearing a sports bra as important if you jog slowly as if you run at faster speeds.’

Dr Scurr’s research into the effect of sport on breast health is being run in conjunction with Sweatshop, the UK’s largest independent running retailer.
The University of Portsmouth and Sweatshop will deliver educational workshops on breast health to five schools in the UK as a pilot scheme starting in September.
The researchers recently hosted a workshop for teenage girls taking part in a television programme where they witnessed demonstrations of how breast movement is researched in the laboratory.
The youngsters watched as models with sensors attached to the breast area ran on treadmills placed side by side.
Dr Scurr said: 'Experiments like these demonstrate clearly that breasts move up and down, and also side to side and in and out.
'Graphically the picture is shown as a figure-of-eight and crucially, breasts move as much during slow jogging as they do at maximum sprint speed.
'This makes wearing a sports bra as important if you jog slowly as if you run at faster speeds.
'Pain and discomfort is not linked to the size of a woman’s breasts.
'An A-cup woman could be prevented from doing sport just as much as a woman with FF-cup breasts.
'The right support can make a difference and our challenge now is to communicate that to young women nationwide and we hope to achieve that by taking the Breast Health Education Programme into schools.'
In the past, Dr Scurr has said women contestants in the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing show should also wear sports bras.