New data reveals the countries around the world where women have the biggest – and the smallest – breasts.
Here’s what it means for your health.
While many might think bigger is better when it comes to breast size, new research says this might not be so.
According to information collated by World Data on the average breast size worldwide, your bust might be a telling indication of your overall health.
“The largest breasts can be found in Norway, Iceland, the United Kingdom, and the USA, the smallest in Central Africa and Southeast Asia,” World Data reported.
“Overall, it is striking that increased breast sizes often occur in countries where obesity is also a problem.”
The WHO defines overweight as a person who has a BMI that is greater than or equal to 25, and obese as someone whose BMI is 30 or over.
The only country in the top 20 to have a healthy BMI was Denmark at 24.6.
The biggest of the bustier bunch was the United States on 29.0.
This figure was just 1.0 points shy of moving from the overweight category into the obese category.
So, how does body fat contribute to our cup size?
“The female breast consists to a large extent of fatty tissue and glands. The shape of the breasts also depends not only on genetic factors but also on the fat content and composition of the connective tissue,” World Data explains. Generally speaking, the bigger you are in body mass, the bigger your breasts are, too.
As for women carrying smaller cup sizes, you might – or might not – be surprised to learn they call African and Asian nations home.
“There are various reasons for the striking regional distribution, especially of small sizes, in Central Africa and Southeast Asia,” World Data explains.
“On the one hand, a genetic cause is often cited. Women in these subcontinents are generally smaller and lighter. An average woman in Southeast Asia is about 1.53 m tall and weighs less than 55 kilograms. In Central Africa, women less than 1.60m and less than 60 kilograms are also daintier than the global average. This alone leads to a connection to the then logically smaller breasts with the same body proportions.”
The world’s top-20 nations based on average cup size, in relation to their BMI
Country, Cup Size, BMI
- Norway: C-D 26.2
- Luxembourg: C 25.7
- Iceland: C 25.6
- United States: C 29.0
- UK: C 27.1
- Venezuela: B-C 26.9
- Colombia: B-C 26.7
- Sweden: B-C 25.4
- Netherlands: B-C 25.3
- Canada: B-C 26.7
- Russia: B-C 26.7
- Poland: B-C 26.1
- Bulgaria: B-C 25.9
- Finland: B-C 25.7
- Denmark B-C 24.6
- Turkey: B 28.8
- New Zealand: B 28.0
- Ireland: B 27.1
- Croatia: B 26.9
- Australia: B 26.8