The average size of women’s breasts have been rising, with sales of large bra sizes tripling over the last three years. A new report from British lingerie frim La Senza indicated that there has been a 30 per cent increase in demand for bras with cup sizes of DD and above since 2003. Whereas 10 years ago, the most popular bra size was a smaller 34B, the average bra size in the UK today is 36C.

Medical commentators believe that part of the growth in bust size is attributable to the dramatic rise in the number of women opting for cosmetic surgery implants. In addition, there has been a general change in women's body shapes, with a move towards the fuller figure.

Kevin Hancock, secretary of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), said: "Breast augmentation is one of the most popular cosmetic operations. We are doing more and more of these operations each year. More girls with bigger breasts could be accounting for this rise in demand for larger bra sizes."

The research, showed that sales of bras with DD, E and F cup sizes across their 118 stores in Britain have risen by a third year on year since 2003. However, bras with smaller cup sizes A to D have gone up by just eight per cent.

"We have definitely seen an increase in demand in bras for women with a cup size of DD or more," Lisa Bond, from La Senza said.

"It may be due to the fact that women now have fuller and more curvy figures or because more women are having breast implants."

To confirm this view, figures published earlier this year revealed that the number of women in the UK having breast augmentation procedures has increased by more than 50 per cent in just 12 months. A survey by BAAPS showed that its members carried out a total of 5,655 breast enlargement operations last year, almost 2,000 more than in 2004.

However, apart from cosmetic surgery and breast augmentation procedures, there has been a change in the average body shape of women in the UK, with waist and bust-lines expanding by 6.5ins and 1.5ins, respectively, since the 1950s. Mr Hancock, a consultant plastic surgeon in Liverpool, added: "Most of my patients who come in for breast augmentation want to go up a couple of sizes, from an A to a C cup, or a B to a D cup - they have a morbid fear of looking like someone like the British model Jordan.

"However, there are obviously girls who, for what ever reasons, want to be much bigger and will need these bigger bra sizes."

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