Explained: How your sports bra and gymwear could make you sick

Getting in a good workout is guaranteed to get you feeling good and healthy. After all, hitting the gym helps you sweat out toxins, right? But, if a report by the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) is to be believed then, your sports bra as well as the leggings you wear may actually be exposing you to more toxic chemicals than you’re sweating out.

The CEH, an American non-profit organisation, has sent legal notices to eight brands as their clothing – sports bras, leggings, shorts and athletic T-shirts – exposed the wearers to higher levels of Bisphenol A (BPA), which can lead to harmful health effects such as asthma, cardiovascular disease and obesity.

But before you throw out your entire sports bra collection and gym clothing, read this explainer to understand the risks involved and how to reduce your exposure to BPA in your daily life.

What is BPA?

Bisphenol A, or BPA, is a chemical widely used to make hard, clear plastics. It is added to many commercial products, including food containers, baby bottles, plastic water bottles, and hygiene products. It has been used since the 1960s to produce strong and resilient plastics for food packaging and home kitchen use.

BPA (Bisphenol A) is found in a large number of everyday products, from water bottles and canned foods to toys and flooring. In fact, a 2003 and 2004 survey by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found detectable levels of BPA in the urine of 93 per cent of more than 2,500 Americans six years and older.

According to medical experts, BPA is a hormone-disrupting chemical that imitates the effects of estrogen on the body. Dr. Jimena Díaz Leiva, the science director at CEH, was quoted as saying, “The problem with BPA is it can mimic hormones like estrogen and block other hormone receptors, altering the concentration of hormones in our bodies, and resulting in negative health effects.”

These negative health effects include diabetes, heart disease, cancer, obesity and erectile dysfunction. BPA has also been linked to asthma in school-age girls. Low levels of exposure during pregnancy cause a variety of health problems in offspring such as effects on the prostate gland as well as effects on the child’s brain.

BPA may also affect the skin — perhaps even causing or increasing the severity of acne in adults, according to a recent study published in The Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology.

A 2020 study had also revealed that BPA exposure could lead to premature death.

However, according to US’ Food and Drug Administration, exposure of less than 2.25 milligrams per pound (5 mg per kg) of bodyweight per day is safe.

BPA in gymwear?

The revelation of BPA in gymwear stems back to an investigation in 2021 when they discovered it in socks made predominantly from polyester and spandex. Following the socks, Díaz Leiva says, the research turned to clothing and focused on garments made from exercise where high body temperature could activate leaching.

Experts say BPA enters the clothing chain as during the manufacturing process of polyester “as an intermediary step to improve the natural properties and lifespan of a fabric.” The chemical can be added to polyester and polyamide textiles to help dyes hold, prevent static, and boost flame retardance.

In October last year, the CEH released a report which stated that sports bras from Athleta, PINK, Asics, The North Face, Brooks, All in Motion, Nike, and FILA that were tested for BPA over a six months period showed the clothing could expose wearers to up to 22 times the safe limit of BPA, based on standards set in California.

And in a testing done recently across 14 brands, they found excessive levels of BPA in them. The brands included leggings from Athleta, Champion, Kohl’s, Nike and Patagonia; sports bras from Sweaty Betty; athletic shirts from Fabletics; and shorts from Adidas, Champion and Nike. The testing showed the clothing could expose wearers to up to 40 times the safe limit of BPA, based on standards set in California.

Athleta, whose leggings were tested, has said in a statement: “As a certified B-Corp, Athleta is deeply committed to ensuring all our products are made to applicable safety standards. We believe the CEH claims have no merit and stand by our products and practices.”

Also read: How traces of microplastics were found in breast milk

Why is this of concern?

Most often BPA enters the human system through ingestion. However, some studies have shown that BPA can be absorbed through skin and this is where the concern lies.

Kaya Allan Sugerman, Illegal Toxic Threats Program Director at CEH was quoted as telling Popsugar, “A previous study has shown that BPA can be absorbed through skin and end up in the bloodstream after handling receipt paper for seconds or a few minutes at a time. Sports bras and athletic shirts are worn for hours at a time, and you are meant to sweat in them, so it is concerning to be finding such high levels of BPA in our clothing.”

But not all experts share the same concern. Tracey J Woodruff, PhD, MPH, professor and program director of the Reproductive Health and the Environment & Environmental Research and Translation for Health (EaRTH) Centre at the University of California in San Francisco believes that ingestion of BPA is still the primary way of it entering the system. “Is your sports bra giving you cancer? No scientist could possibly tell you that,” said Dr Woodruff to WellandGood.com.

Also read: What are forever chemicals found across UK and Europe? What danger do they pose?

How to keep BPA exposure to the minimum?

Rather than discarding all your existing gymwear, experts state that a quick fix to the issue would be to change out of activewear immediately after a workout.

Dr Hugh Taylor, chair of the department of obstetrics and gynaecology and reproductive sciences at Yale University and chief of obstetrics and gynaecology at Yale-New Haven Hospital, told Shape: “This (BPA) does clear the system pretty quickly. So, it’s not something you have to worry about accumulating [over time]. Short exposure, shorter and briefer exposure, is probably better.”

Another way to reduce exposure would be to get rid of older, worn-down clothing items that contain high levels of BPA.

With inputs from agencies

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