Understanding public perception of bra size

Area of Science:

• Plastic Surgery
• Medical Communication
• Patient Perception

Background:

• Breast cup size is a common but poorly defined metric in surgeon-patient communication regarding aesthetic goals.
• The subjective nature of breast cup size can lead to discrepancies in expectations for postoperative results.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the consistency of breast cup size perception within a general population.
• To determine if factors like professional bra fitting or prior breast surgery influence cup size perception.

Main Methods:

• A survey was distributed to 500 Amazon MTurk respondents.
• Respondents were asked to estimate the cup size from 27 preoperative breast images.
• Data collected included demographic information and personal bra use history.

Main Results:

• Respondents correctly identified the actual cup size in 43.32% of cases.
• Individuals with professional bra fitting experience were less accurate (38.75%) than the general population.
• Those with a history of breast surgery also showed lower accuracy (36.92%) in estimating cup size.

Conclusions:

• While general population perception of breast cup size shows some consistency, it is not highly accurate.
• Subgroups with expected higher knowledge (professional fittings, prior surgery) demonstrated significant differences in perception.
• The findings underscore the need for caution when using breast cup size terminology in preoperative consultations to align patient and surgeon expectations.