Health
Are you worried about penis size? Read on
London, March 3
British researchers have provided new insights on what is considered "normal" for penis length and circumference in men.
David
Veale from the King's College London and his colleague from the King's
College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust set out to create a nomogram
(graphical diagram) of male penis size measurements across all ages and
races.
A search of the medical literature revealed 17 studies
with up to 15,521 males who underwent penis size measurements by health
professionals using a standard procedure.
The graphs revealed
that the average length of a flaccid penis was 9.16 cm (3.6 inch), the
average length of a flaccid stretched penis was 13.24 cm (5.2 inch) and
the average length of an erect penis was 13.12 cm (5.1 inch).
The average flaccid circumference was 9.31 cm (3.6 inch) and the average erect circumference was 11.66 cm (4.5 inch).
There was a small correlation between erect length and height.
"We
believe these graphs will help doctors reassure the large majority of
men that the size of their penis is in the normal range," Veale noted.
"We
will also use the graphs to examine the discrepancy between what a man
believes to be their position on the graph and their actual position or
what they think they should be," he continued.
Some men are
concerned about their penis size and those who are preoccupied and
severely distressed with the size of their penis may even be diagnosed
with Body Dysmorphic Disorder.
There have been no formal
systematic reviews of penile size measurements so far and no attempts to
create a graphical diagram that depicts the distribution of the size of
a flaccid or erect penis.
The new findings may be helpful when
counselling men who are worried about their size or when investigating
the relationship between condom failure and penile dimensions, the
authors concluded.
The findings were detailed in the journal BJU International.