Cleveland — Environmental factors more than genetics may influence the aesthetic quality of breasts as women age, according to a newly published study.
Researchers from University Hospitals Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine examined 161 pairs of identical twins to investigate the role of environmental and acquired factors on breast appearance.
According to the findings, the researchers noted that breast feeding, daily moisturizing and hormone replacement therapy were associated with more aesthetically pleasing breasts, while smoking, drinking alcohol, high body mass index and multiple pregnancies were associated with less attractive breasts.
Each set of twins completed questionnaires on lifestyle habits such as smoking, drinking, stress and other factors. Photos taken by medical photographers of the twins’ breasts were then evaluated by independent blinded reviewers, who looked at shape, size, projection, areolar shape and areolar size.
The study appeared to dispel the myth that breastfeeding negatively affects breast aesthetics, ABC News reports. The skin quality was better in women who breastfed than those who did not, the study found.
The findings were published in the September issue of the Aesthetic Surgery Journal.
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