Local actress Joanne Peh has caused a storm in a D-cup after claiming that her breasts always swell up by one whole cup size at that time of the month.

She made the claim in a story last year, but the issue assumed new prominence in a report last week in The New Paper.

The latest newspaper story came after the 26-year-old actress caused a stir with her appearance in a recent episode of the Channel 8 cooking show 3-Plus-1.

She wore a dress with a plunging halter-neck line in the popular show where two local stars prepare three dishes and a soup with a budget of $20.

Online chat forums ran hot about the revealing dress, saying that Peh was showing too much of her assets. Not only that, but she was looking too swell - some posters wondered if nature had been given a helping hand.

She denied in last week's newspaper report that she had breasts implants, claiming that her mammaries usually become bigger when she is having her period due to hormones.

However, doctors whom LifeStyle spoke to said Peh's boob boost claims seemed inflated.

Yes, she could experience bigger cupcakes with hormones added to the mix. But by a whole cup size - the doctors felt that was busting things too much.

Dr Beh Suan Tiong, an obstetrician and gynaecologist at Thomson Medical Centre, said: 'There is usually some fluid retention when a woman has her period due to hormonal changes. This fluid retention will make her breasts bigger.'

But he was adamant when he said: 'Having their breasts increase by a cup size during their period does not happen for most women. The change would not be so drastic. Otherwise, they would need to have two different sets of bras with different cup sizes.'

Dr Christopher Chong, who owns Chris Chong Women and Urogynae Clinic at Gleneagles Hospital, agreed: 'For a woman's breasts to be significantly enlarged during her period is very unusual. My patients have not complained of their breasts increasing by one cup size before.'

But there can be instances when a woman's breasts increase significantly during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Dr Chong said: 'When a woman is pregnant, the size of her breasts can increase by more than one cup size as her whole body will swell. Breastfeeding mums will also experience the same thing because of engorgement in their breasts.'

Still, the issue of Peh's well-endowed figure and her cup that runneth over has resulted in endless online forum writers making pointed remarks.

Netizen Bond felt that Peh's top was too distracting: 'I thought she wore a bikini to the show.' Another poster, Bezxzer, noted: 'It was the dress that was making people drool... not the food.'

This article was first published in The Straits Times.