Youthful bra size offers clue to risk of diabetes

WOMEN who wear a large bra size are much more likely to develop diabetes than women with an A cup, experts said yesterday.

Measuring a woman’s breast size at age 20 may help predict whether she will develop diabetes in middle age, a study found.

Research published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found women with a C or D cup were more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes than those with an A cup.

Type 2 diabetes is often linked with lifestyle factors, such as obesity and a lack of exercise. But after adjusting for such factors, researchers found the risk was still high.

“The association persisted after we adjusted for other risk factors for Type 2 diabetes, such as family history of diabetes mellitus, diet and exercise,” the study said.

They quizzed more than 90,000 women with an average age of 38 on their bra sizes when they were aged 20 and then looked to see how many went on to develop diabetes.

The results, irrespective of other risk factors, showed women who wore B cups at the age of 20 were 37% more likely to have diabetes than those wearing A cups.

For those who wore a C cup at 20, the risk was up by about 80%, dropping to 64% among those wearing a D cup. One theory is fatty tissue in the breast, adipose tissue, may be involved in making the body resistant to the effects of insulin.

The researchers, led by Joel Ray, of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at St Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, called for further studies on the findings.

Libby Dowling, care adviser at Diabetes UK, said: “We already know fat around the waistline is a risk factor for developing Type 2 diabetes. This research is suggesting fat in the breasts could play a similar role.

“However, it is far too early to use breast size as an indicator of a woman’s risk of Type 2 diabetes.”