Dressed To Kill (book) - Criticisms

Criticisms

Medical and scientific bodies which have examined the book's claims have generally dismissed them on the basis of poor methodology, lack of supporting evidence, and Singer and Grismaijer's failure to consider alternate explanations besides bra use for their findings.

One specific critique of the their book by Martha Molete of the Cancer Association of South Africa argues that numerous aspects of the book's claims are scientifically unsubstantiated or unproven, citing:

1. Lack of controlled epidemiological data correlating bra-wearing with the risk for breast cancer
2. Lack of proof that the pressure exerted by a bra reduces the flow of lymph
3. Lack of proof that lymph contains carcinogens
4. Lack of proof that there are carcinogens in the human body that can induce breast cancer
5. Existence of published data correlating obesity with post-menopausal breast cancer

None of the authors' surveys have attempted to account for any of the well-known epidemiological risk factors for breast cancer, such as number of full-term pregnancies, age at first pregnancy, obesity, Western pattern diet, or use of medications such as hormone replacement therapy. Per Molete, "the authors' statistical treatment of their obtained data appears to be flawed. They do not include the data or a detailed description of the statistical treatment of the data. The two groups, i.e. those wearing bras and those that did not, were not controlled for many other factors influencing the risk of breast cancer."