New research suggests that large-breasted women who do not wear a decent sports bra while exercising could damage their cleavage.

Experts from sports bra manufacturer Shock Absorber have warned that women who do not support their busts experience significant 'bust bounce'.

They claim that a good sports bra reduces this bounce by 74 per cent, but an everyday bra only reduces the effect by 38 per cent.

For instance, during Strictly Come Dancing hopeful Lisa Snowdon's recent jive, her 34F breasts are calculated to have bounced around 221 metres in all directions.

Scientists at the Shock Absorber Sports Institute at Portsmouth University estimate that 9.5 million of the 12 million women who exercise regularly do not protect their busts properly.

A spokeswoman for the institute told the Daily Mail: "A good sports bra is as essential to aspiring jivers as fabulous dresses and your dancing shoes."

According to the institute, even women with small breasts need to wear a sports bra while exercising as the ligaments that attach the breast to the body still sag over time.