For a number of reasons, breasts are getting larger, and more young women than ever before are opting for breast reduction surgery. But this is not without consequences, explains a KU Leuven surgeon.
The number of women aged 25 and under in Belgium who are choosing to have breast reduction surgery has risen by 60% compared to 10 years ago. The figures come from Riziv, the national institute that determines health and disability benefits.
In 2023, just over 7,617 reduction surgeries were carried out in Belgium. The proportion of them who are 25 and younger is growing. The rise in figures could be in part due to young women being more informed about the option via other women on social media. But the primary reason is that breasts are becoming larger.
The average breast size in Belgium 15 years ago was 75B, while today it is 80C. There are various explanations for why the average breast size has gotten bigger, says KU Leuven plastic surgeon Jan Vranckx. An increase in hormones and endocrine-disrupting chemicals are two reasons.
Our lifestyles bring us into contact with hormone disruptors that are found in cosmetics and plastics
Dr Jan Vranckx
“Contraception consists of oestrogen, a hormone that causes water retention,” he explains. “Also our lifestyles bring us more and more into contact with hormone disruptors that are found in cosmetics and plastics. We can’t do much about that, but it definitely has an effect on us.”
A rising body mass index is also to blame for breasts growing bigger at a younger age, he says, “as breasts are 80% fatty tissue”.
But why do young women feel the need to have smaller breasts? Vranckx points to women often complaining of neck and back pain due to the weight of their breasts. But often they just feel uncomfortable in general.
There is also an emotional aspect, he says, with many young women feeling embarrassed about having large breasts. “The perfect cup size doesn’t exist,” he says. “We should rethink beyond having the ideal breast because surgery can, for instance, leave scars.”
Women also experience numbness in the nipple area following surgery, which for about one in 10 women never goes away. Vranckx advises patients to wait until after having their first baby if they plan to breast feed, as a lack of feeling in the nipple can have consequences.
In any case, Vranckx says that he understands quite well why women do not want to go through life with physical, emotional or aesthetic concerns. “That’s not just the case for breast reduction but also for breast enhancement and other procedures,” he says. “The taboos are really being broken.”