Most men worry about it.
And while there isn’t much they can do naturally to make their penises bigger, there are several health conditions and lifestyle factors that can make them smaller.
In fact, a man’s penis length can decrease by up to an inch or so for a variety of reasons.
Smoking, for example, can contribute to shrinkage by damaging blood vessels crucial to maintaining an erection, meaning men lose size during sex.
But having too much sex can also shrink your penis over time due to scar tissue buildup.
Experts have revealed that certain health conditions such as heart disease and obesity can reduce blood flow to the penis, making it appear smaller.
Dr. Mary Samplaski, a urologist and director of male infertility at the University of Southern California, said: Men’s health That age and chronic diseases could cause the penis to lose a constant level of tumescence.
Tumescence is the ability of the penis to swell and become erect when a man is aroused.
Over time, this can result in a loss of about an inch, but it is difficult to measure.
She said: “There isn’t really a medical tool to measure penile shrinkage. What we do know is that smoking and age can cause a decrease in testosterone production.”
Testosterone, a male sex hormone, is essential for maintaining sexual desire and erections.
Smoking, for example, has been shown to damage blood vessels throughout the body, narrowing them and preventing blood from flowing to the penis. This can lead to weaker erections or the inability to maintain an erection.
Penis shrinkage and erectile dysfunction can also be a sign of the leading cause of death in the United States: heart disease.
Similar to smoking, heart disease causes narrowing of blood vessels and reduced blood flow to the penis, which can cause it to shrink over time.
Heart disease also causes plaque to build up in the arteries, which reduces blood flow to the penis.
Dr. Samplaski also noted that obesity is one of the causes of penis shrinkage, as fat contains enzymes that convert testosterone into estrogen, a female sex hormone.
Without enough testosterone, the penis can shrink or wrinkle.
In some cases where the penis appears smaller, it may not actually be shrinking.
Lower abdominal fat can pull the organ inward or wrap around the shaft, making it appear smaller.
Therefore, losing weight can help the penis appear larger and look bigger.
And interestingly, having too much sex can cause small reductions in penis size, as well as cause minor injuries to the area. However, it’s difficult to quantify how much is too much.
This causes scar tissue to build up, which decreases the elasticity of the penile tissues and reduces the size of both the flaccid and erect penis.
Additionally, exposure to cold temperatures could divert blood flow from the penis to vital organs, causing it to shrink. This has been dubbed the “winter penis,” which experts note is simply a “normal physiological response to cold.”
However, the size returns to normal once temperatures rise.
While lifestyle factors can influence penis size, shrinkage may be inevitable for some men as they age.
The penis and testicles tend to get smaller with age, largely due to poor blood flow as blood vessels naturally harden.
Age also increases the risk of suffering from erectile dysfunction, which affects half of men between 40 and 70 years old at some point and one in six chronically.
Prolonged periods of erectile dysfunction have been shown to slightly reduce penis size, as the tissues in the penis gradually weaken and lose elasticity. This means that during an erection, the penis might not stretch as much, making it appear shorter.
Not all weight loss can be prevented, but Dr. Leslie Deane, professor and chief of urology at Howard University, told Men’s Health that consistent exercise can help boost testosterone levels needed to maintain erections and prevent size loss.