Helping women choose right sports bra

26 Jun 2008 | Nick Hartgerink

BOOK LAUNCH: Tuesday, 1 July at 11am at the UOW UniShop

A supportive and well fitting bra is not just an item of underwear. It is an essential piece of sporting equipment that can affect sporting performance, as well as comfort.

Yet a study conducted by the University of Wollongong (UOW) of 115 adolescent females found 88% wore bras during sport and physical activity that did not fit them correctly and 85% failed a simple knowledge test on bras and bra fit.

Consequently, Breast Research Australia (BRA) at UOW’s Biomechanics Research Laboratory has developed a booklet, Sports Bra Fitness, to give women simple, easy to read information on how to choose a suitable bra to wear during sport and how to tell if it fits.

The booklet has been evaluated together with a multifaceted intervention on the same group of adolescents used in the original research, and has been found to be effective in improving both their bra knowledge and bra wearing behaviour.

As breasts are an important part of the self image of adolescent females, and self image is a primary barrier to physical activity in this age group, such an intervention could have a positive effect on physical activity in adolescents.

Sports Bra Fitness provides simple information to empower females, both adult and adolescent, with the knowledge and ability to independently purchase a bra, in the right size, that provides sufficient support relative to breast size and level of physical activity, so they can exercise in comfort.

Sports Bra Fitness will be launched at the University of Wollongong UniShop book store at 11am on Tuesday, 1 July, 2008.

Sportswomen from the Illawarra Academy of Sport will attend.

For more information, contact Deirdre McGhee at the Biomechanics Research Laboratory on (02) 4221 4980 or Nick Hartgerink (Media Unit) on 0418 424085.