The general impression so far has been that the breast size of an average woman is just right in most cultures though it is debatable what is right or too big or too small.  The definition seems to vary by body type, country, and culture.  However, considering how much attention women with good figures receive almost everywhere (there are cases where women have been able to turn into models or stars simply on the basis of their breast size - Think Pamela Anderson), it would be interesting to talk about the findings from a survey conducted by MYNIPPON as part of our research for the book "Flat, but proud:  A guide to love and life".  (Related article:  So should you choose silicone implants?)

For almost 10-15 years, the average breast size has been growing up, as is evident from the fairly large sizes of teenage girls.  While in the past, 12-14 year old girls practically did not have anything to talk about, the situation has changed completely.  Most people we spoke to indicate that this dramatic change is attributable to the equally dramatic change in eating habits on a global basis, but particularly here in America where consumption of fat-rich foods has exploded during the last 30-40 years.  This has been changing with the dominance of fast food restaurants that not only have a lot more beef and fried food but also the portions are larger.  Teenagers are most likely to consume fast food - it is cheaper, easily available, is considered cool, and fast-food restaurants provide a great place for them to hang out.   This has, of course, created image problems among grown-up women.  As Lynette from Madison, Wisconsin, says, "When I see my daughter's bra size two cups larger than mine, I feel jealous.  What should I do?"  Well that is a very popular question and there is no simple answer to it.  (Related article:  Selection of breast implants)

Teenagers today are also more likely to participate in sports unlike their mothers and grandmothers and this is another reason why women today have more proportionate figures and are much taller.  Since this phenomenon has been prevalent for more than a decade now, the number of women in their 20s and 30s are also more likely to have larger breasts.  (Related article:  Shopping for small size bras)

Our research also found that natural changes alone do not explain the phenomenon.  There has been a boom in plastic surgery aimed at such women.  Women's magazines and television program are full of stories related to plastic surgery or other non-surgical procedures for more shapely and proportionate bodies through plastic surgery breast lift procedures (or with what is known as an internal bra).  The third factor has been the availability of better bras that can create remarkable improvement in a woman's appearance.  It is also to be mentioned that with the added attention, women now take better care of their bodies.  (Related:  Teenagers with big breasts)

We has also learned that the attitude towards breast size is now changing.  Men all over the world now consistently rate bigger as better though still a large number of men prefer women with smaller breasts (specifically, what our research is showing is that men rarely appreciates large, fake ones).  According to another survey by MSNBC,  most men — 71 percent — said they’re completely happy with the size of their partner’s size. Surprisingly, there were men — admittedly only 3 percent — who wish their partner’s bust was smaller. In contrast, almost 30 percent of women said they’d like their size to be larger, while 9 percent said they’d like smaller ones.  In another survey by Allure, though, 70% of women wanted bigger or rounder breasts, but more than half of American men were satisfied with their partner's breasts.

Men also seem to be less concerned than women about sagging breasts. Almost 30 percent of women said they were unhappy with the loss of perkiness, while only 18 percent of men said drooping breasts bothered them.  It is clear that women are doing whatever they can do work on their size.  The media has also started directing a lot more attention and late night TV, comics, and newspapers/ magazines regularly feature women with large breasts and actually talk about how they underwent breast augmentation plastic surgery procedure to have those.   (Related article:  What can you do when your breasts starts to sag?)

What do our members say?

MYNIPPON further found that 90 cm (or 36 inches) and C cup was considered to be the most desirable size by women since anything bigger than that looks too big on a woman's body.  The number of women with that perfect body continues to be small since bigger top also generally means a bigger body size.  Maggie, an American woman with 90B breast size, offers her advice to women, "Size should not be extremely important to women, and neither should pleasing a man be very important. That means, do not sacrifice everything to be a man's  greatest desire. There are men that will only look at a woman's chest and not at the actual woman. That is bad. Don't put yourself down on that level. Be desired for who you are".  (Related article:  How I started a new life?)

Another important thing to note is if small breasts pose a problem for celebrities.  Indeed Pamela Anderson, Marilyn Monroe, Dolly Parton, and Jessica Simpson among others have clearly benefited from their large breasts (thanks to surgery of course in some cases), but Paris Hilton (who openly says that her favorite item of clothing is pushup bras), Michelle Pfeiffer, Mary-Kate Olsen, Ashley Olsen, Nicole Kidman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Hudson, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Rachael Ray, Shakira, and Chinese star Fann Wong, Keira Knightley are all basically flat-chested.  And even someone as desirable as a lingerie model as Gisele Bundchen only has 34B breasts.  (Related:  Elle Macpherson vows not to have plastic surgery despite insecurities)

The same sentiment is echoed by Vitorrio Devito Brooks, a male, who writes, "If it seems that breast size is going up it is due to the fact that more women are comfortable with displaying a false size.  Younger and middle aged women line up for enhancement surgery in Hollywood.  It has become less expensive too. So of course the size is going up; but is there actually anything wrong with that?"  Jose Romero comments, "The media seems to have a larger influence on what we see today.  I really don't believe that there is much more of a difference in size than there was five years ago."  Rie Inayoshi, a Japanese-American in San Francisco agrees.  She tells MYNIPPON, "White girls seem to have more proportionate bodies than Asian girls. My friend Caroline has 36DD size. I feel jealous and inadequate. I think we Asians have a long way to go!"  (Related article:  Consider safety issues prior to plastic surgery)

Merrill Sampson has the kindest words for these depressed women, "I really don't care what everyone else thinks, I have never been attracted to these fake women. I find large to be rather sickening. However I am extremely attracted to small ones.  The way I see it, the smaller the better. And I'm not the only one who thinks that way; most of my friends agree with me. I wouldn't turn down a woman for having large ones but it will be about 40 TIMES more likely I'll go out with her if she has small ones. If any guy says you are ugly just ignore him and remember that there are plenty of guys that would have their dreams come true just to have one date with you."

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