The size of the male erect penis has increased by 24% over the last 29 years.
That’s not clickbait (well, it is but what you gonna do), it is the result of a highly scientific and in-depth systematic review carried out by a team of respected urologists from around the globe for the World Journal of Men’s Health. And, I have to say, the study, which rejoices in the title Worldwide Temporal Trends in Penile Length: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis does stand up.
The urologists closely examined 75 of the things in total - we’re talking about papers on penis size published between 1942 and 2021, by the way - to observe the upward trend.
This rise was seen across the world. But - and it’s a big but - it may not be good news.
Perhaps measuring techniques have changed. It could just be down to earlier puberty. Earlier puberty tends to mean men are bigger all over. Or it could be something more concerning. Lead researcher Michael Eisenberg, a professor of urology at Stanford Medicine told USA Today that he didn’t have ‘a great explanation for it’ and felt it needed further investigation. But he went into more detail with one of his college’s blogs.
Assumption penises would be smaller
He noted that sperm counts and testosterone levels have been declining and male birth defects like hypospadias increasing for some time. His team wondered if penis size had also declined. But they found the opposite.
'The increase happened over a relatively short period of time,’ Eisenberg told Scope. ‘If we're seeing this fast of a change, it means that something powerful is happening to our bodies. There could be a number of factors at play, such as chemical exposure, like pesticides or hygiene products, interacting with our hormonal systems. These endocrine-disrupting chemicals - there are many - exist in our environment and our diet. As we change our body's constitution that also affects our hormonal milieu. Chemical exposure has also been posited as a cause for boys and girls going into puberty earlier, which can affect genital development.’
Eisenberg says the next step is to look at other patient populations including children and women to see if there are similar changes.
So it looks like size may matter, after all. Just not in the way the average male would like to think. (And, in case you’re interested, the average erect length internationally is 6 inches today compared to 4.8 inches 29 years ago.)
All your penis questions including on size are answered in our manual: Size Isn’t everything. Available as a free PDF.
Jim Pollard,
Editor
