4 ms·

I do a lot of high school senior photography. It's hard to talk about this without sounding crude as a guy but something that I've noticed that contrasts with

I do a lot of high school senior photography. It's hard to talk about this without sounding crude as a guy but something that I've noticed that contrasts with when I graduated high school (2006) is just how many girls have huge breasts. I think there were 2 girls in my grade that were skinny and had what would be called "large" breasts. Most other skinny girls had the standard A or B cups. Now a very large portion have what must be D cups. I've tried to look up studies but I couldn't find any that controlled for weight. This was also the first year I had not one, but two, morbidly obese girls. One was so large I ran out of poses pretty much right away as she couldn't clasp her hands together behind her back, couldn't do the same near her waist in front, and she couldn't even sit down on the ground - only kneel. She told me she wanted to be a lawyer. I find it incredibly sad that you could be that large already at that age. I can only imagine how difficult it would make life.

spicyusername 4y ago
> just how many girls have huge breasts. One reason I've heard to explain this is a rise in the consumption of certain kinds of hormonal birth control.
true_religion 4y ago
So the funny thing is I was hearing the same thing ( that the average cup size had increase to C) back when I graduated high school in the late 90s. I think non anectodally, this trend is something that has been going on for a long time. If I remember correctly we blamed microplastics in the water minicking estrogen, and starting puberty earlier. What is the truth is probably unknown.
cptcobalt 4y ago
> I find it incredibly sad that you could be that large already at that age. I can only imagine how difficult it would make life. As someone about this size, but has also been relatively "fit" at this size (I used to be able to go on casual 10+ mile hikes on weekends, pre-pandemic), it's also our health system failing us. I've never had a doctor give me a better answer than "diet and exercise" to change things. I got to a level of fitness where I could go on 10 mile hikes, which is a hell of a lot more fit than a lot than many Americans, yet they'd still give me doom and gloom and uninterested answers. It's exhausting. America does not treat obesity well, and I feel like there's not good enough research going into it. I love to see reporting like—and hope there's more to come, in hopes that it changes both clinical mindsets and also how we think about obesity. It's more than what you eat.
- cnasc 4y ago
  > I've never had a doctor give me a better answer than "diet and exercise" to change things. I got to a level of fitness where I could go on 10 mile hikes I don’t mean this to be rude, but it sounds like you paid attention to just one half of the doctor’s advice?
  - cptcobalt 4y ago
    Not so—significant dieting, zero soda or desserts, etc. But that's not as comparatively interesting for the argument as "can go on 10 mile hikes any weekend, yet made no progress". My point is directly intended to respond not just with anecdata, but that we have more work to do in research, diagnosis, and treatment of it. I don’t mean this to be rude, but it sounds like you jumped to a quick conclusion based on preexisting simple expectations about obesity?
    - cnasc 4y ago
      > I don’t mean this to be rude, but it sounds like you jumped to a quick conclusion based on preexisting simple expectations about obesity? I think this is unwarranted sarcasm, given that I could only comment on the information you provided in your post.
      - cptcobalt 4y ago
        I accept that feedback at face value.
        Auracle 4y ago
        I too had the same thought. You might hike 10 miles on the weekend but depending on your weight that's maybe 3000 calories at the most? It's pretty easy to eat that back over a week. For the record, just in case it helps you, most weekdays I walk pretty close to 10 miles using a standing desk and walking treadmill. If you can incorporate it into your work day I'd recommend it.
bsder 4y ago
1) I have a suspicion that girls are getting birth control pills at much earlier ages than they used to. Putting a girl on bith control pills in the middle of puberty is going to have an effect somewhere and weight gain is one of the documented effects of birth control. 2) Girls getting fatter likely triggers other changes as well. Given that the female body works very hard to shut down reproduction when fat is scarce, it may very well supercharge reproductive changes when fat is plentiful. 3) I think you heavily underestimate the number of girls who get breast implants. For a while, it seemed like every 16-year-old girl was getting them. You could notice a significant contrast when shifting between areas with different socioeconomics--blue-collar areas mysteriously had lots of girls with much smaller breasts than white-collar ones.
- tristor 4y ago
  > 3) I think you heavily underestimate the number of girls who get breast implants. For a while, it seemed like every 16-year-old girl was getting them. You could notice a significant contrast when shifting between areas with different socioeconomics--blue-collar areas mysteriously had lots of girls with much smaller breasts than white-collar ones. Citation definitely needed for this. Cosmetic surgery in the US is not covered by insurance and requires parental consent for patients under 18. While I do see more young women (and men) with "body modifications" like tattoos under 18, I strongly doubt we have a significant number of parents who are taking their teenage daughters in to get breast implants before they've even finished high school. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
- Auracle 4y ago
  For number 3, I live in a rural part of Minnesota. It's rare to see breast implants even on adult women. I would notice pretty quickly if one of my clients had them as their breasts wouldn't "sit right" in some poses, particularly anything where they're on their back. For your other points, I'm talking about stick-skinny 17 year olds with very large breasts. Hormonal birth control could be part/all of the reason but it's not from weight gain anywhere other than their bust.

spicyusername 4y ago

> just how many girls have huge breasts. One reason I've heard to explain this is a rise in the consumption of certain kinds of hormonal birth control.

true_religion 4y ago

So the funny thing is I was hearing the same thing ( that the average cup size had increase to C) back when I graduated high school in the late 90s. I think non anectodally, this trend is something that has been going on for a long time. If I remember correctly we blamed microplastics in the water minicking estrogen, and starting puberty earlier. What is the truth is probably unknown.

cptcobalt 4y ago

> I find it incredibly sad that you could be that large already at that age. I can only imagine how difficult it would make life. As someone about this size, but has also been relatively "fit" at this size (I used to be able to go on casual 10+ mile hikes on weekends, pre-pandemic), it's also our health system failing us. I've never had a doctor give me a better answer than "diet and exercise" to change things. I got to a level of fitness where I could go on 10 mile hikes, which is a hell of a lot more fit than a lot than many Americans, yet they'd still give me doom and gloom and uninterested answers. It's exhausting. America does not treat obesity well, and I feel like there's not good enough research going into it. I love to see reporting like—and hope there's more to come, in hopes that it changes both clinical mindsets and also how we think about obesity. It's more than what you eat.

cnasc 4y ago
> I've never had a doctor give me a better answer than "diet and exercise" to change things. I got to a level of fitness where I could go on 10 mile hikes I don’t mean this to be rude, but it sounds like you paid attention to just one half of the doctor’s advice?
- cptcobalt 4y ago
  Not so—significant dieting, zero soda or desserts, etc. But that's not as comparatively interesting for the argument as "can go on 10 mile hikes any weekend, yet made no progress". My point is directly intended to respond not just with anecdata, but that we have more work to do in research, diagnosis, and treatment of it. I don’t mean this to be rude, but it sounds like you jumped to a quick conclusion based on preexisting simple expectations about obesity?
  - cnasc 4y ago
    > I don’t mean this to be rude, but it sounds like you jumped to a quick conclusion based on preexisting simple expectations about obesity? I think this is unwarranted sarcasm, given that I could only comment on the information you provided in your post.
    - cptcobalt 4y ago
      I accept that feedback at face value.
      - Auracle 4y ago
        I too had the same thought. You might hike 10 miles on the weekend but depending on your weight that's maybe 3000 calories at the most? It's pretty easy to eat that back over a week. For the record, just in case it helps you, most weekdays I walk pretty close to 10 miles using a standing desk and walking treadmill. If you can incorporate it into your work day I'd recommend it.

bsder 4y ago

1) I have a suspicion that girls are getting birth control pills at much earlier ages than they used to. Putting a girl on bith control pills in the middle of puberty is going to have an effect somewhere and weight gain is one of the documented effects of birth control. 2) Girls getting fatter likely triggers other changes as well. Given that the female body works very hard to shut down reproduction when fat is scarce, it may very well supercharge reproductive changes when fat is plentiful. 3) I think you heavily underestimate the number of girls who get breast implants. For a while, it seemed like every 16-year-old girl was getting them. You could notice a significant contrast when shifting between areas with different socioeconomics--blue-collar areas mysteriously had lots of girls with much smaller breasts than white-collar ones.

tristor 4y ago
> 3) I think you heavily underestimate the number of girls who get breast implants. For a while, it seemed like every 16-year-old girl was getting them. You could notice a significant contrast when shifting between areas with different socioeconomics--blue-collar areas mysteriously had lots of girls with much smaller breasts than white-collar ones. Citation definitely needed for this. Cosmetic surgery in the US is not covered by insurance and requires parental consent for patients under 18. While I do see more young women (and men) with "body modifications" like tattoos under 18, I strongly doubt we have a significant number of parents who are taking their teenage daughters in to get breast implants before they've even finished high school. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
Auracle 4y ago
For number 3, I live in a rural part of Minnesota. It's rare to see breast implants even on adult women. I would notice pretty quickly if one of my clients had them as their breasts wouldn't "sit right" in some poses, particularly anything where they're on their back. For your other points, I'm talking about stick-skinny 17 year olds with very large breasts. Hormonal birth control could be part/all of the reason but it's not from weight gain anywhere other than their bust.