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Penises Have Gotten 25% Longer. Here’s Why That Concerns Doctors

Bigger isn’t always better, bro.

Rulers spread out on a table showing different lengths

Back in 1992, Bill Clinton took office, Billy Ray Cyrus tore up the charts with “Achy Breaky Heart,” and our penis lengths averaged 4.8 inches when erect. Fast forward 30 years, and our members managed to add an impressive 25 percent in length, now clocking 6 inches when erect. 

Before we celebrate our wedding vegetables’ sizable leap forth, researchers and doctors hasten to point out that our below-the-belt gains have, troublingly, come at the expense of our fertility.  

The data emerged from a new study in The World Journal of Men’s Health examined data from 75 studies performed between 1942 and 2021, from many different regions in the world, getting data from more than 55,000 penises. Originally, the researchers expected to see a decrease in erection length, particularly given rising obesity. 

The exponential growth was a shock, and the resulting natural question is why and how.

It’s a query that seriously concerns Dr. Michael Eisenberg, a urologist and male fertility specialist at Stanford Medicine, who led the new research. “If we’re seeing this fast of a change, it means that something powerful is happening to our bodies. We should try to confirm these findings and if confirmed, we must determine the cause of these changes,” Eisenberg said. He hypothesizes that earlier puberty could be responsible for longer penises now.

Further troubling: both sperm count and testosterone levels in men are falling, even as our junk rises. Still, it’s not clear that penile length is directly related to fertility, Eisenberg notes. 

Dr. James Hotaling, a urologist and men’s infertility specialist at the University of Utah Health, was more skeptical about the penile length findings in the new study. Another explanation for the increase in size, he told USA Today, may be that the method of measurement has changed, though he doesn’t suggest how. 

Whatever it is giving dudes an extra fraction of an inch, it’s still not great that sperm counts and testosterone levels have crashed. If you’re concerned you may have low T, Hone’s at-home testosterone test is safe, affordable, reliable, and ready for home use.

If the assessment shows that your T levels aren’t where they should be for your age, doctors can recommend a personalized treatment plan to help you feel like yourself again.

But, before you ask, no, testosterone won’t lengthen your erections

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About the author

Paul Schrodt is a freelance writer and editor covering entertainment, health, and sex. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Hollywood Reporter, GQ, Men's Health, and more.