In recent decades, the global average length of a penis has increased by 24%. Futurism reports that the Stanford scientists behind such a discovery say that this is not necessarily a good thing.
Men's Genital Organs Are Becoming Longer
Their findings were published in the World Journal of Men's Health on Valentine's Day.
The Stanford researchers saw that, based on their meta-analysis, which covers decades' worth of research, the average penis length went from 4.8 inches to around 6 inches over the course of around three decades. This 24% jump was unexpectedly observed even when the quality of sperm cells and the levels of testosterone had decreased.
Considering the observed trends in other metrics of male reproductive health, the researchers thought that penis length would become shorter due to environmental factors.
Though this trend was observed, researchers are not sure why the length of men's genital organs increased. Michael Eisenberg, MD, who is a urology professor at Stanford Medicine, says that why this took place is a million-dollar question.
Though the length of a penis does not directly relate to sexual health, it is still a worthy study subject because it is not necessarily a good thing.
Health Implications of Increased Penis Length
This significant increase was observed in a relatively short span. Stanford reports that any general developmental change is worth concern because the reproductive system is one of the most important biological pieces of humans. If such a fast change is observed, it implies that something could be happening to the body. The findings should be confirmed; and if they are indeed verified, it is important to pinpoint the causes behind these alterations.
Stanford says that various factors could be at play. These may include exposure to chemicals, such as hygiene products or pesticides, that interact with hormones. These chemicals that disrupt the endocrine system can be found in the environment and in a typical diet. Stanford notes that exposure to chemicals has been seen to be a cause for earlier puberty onset among boys and girls, which may also impact the development of genitals.
Eisenberg says that the motivation behind the study was to see the implications of such findings and open new avenues for looking into how environmental factors affect human health. He also mentions that such an increase in length could indicate that environmental factors lead to reproductive-related alterations.
The next huge step to take would be to examine other populations of patients and see if similar changes are also present. Moreover, if there is granular data regarding environmental or lifestyle factors, the researchers may discover the reason behind such a phenomenon.
They also think that it is important to observe if there are similar changes in women's genital organs.
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