GROWERS and showers have been defined by scientists for the first time.
Spanish urologists found if a penis increases in size by more than 56 per cent when erect it is the former, while a jump of less than a third is the latter.
GettySpanish urologists found if a penis increases in size by more than 56 per cent when erect it is a grower, while a jump of less than a third is a shower[/caption]
Showers tended to be longer when flaccid at around 4.4in, compared to 3.5in for their less out-there counterparts.
Dr Manuel Alonso-Isa, of the University Hospital HM Puerta del Sur in Madrid said the distinction is important because it means patients “might need a different surgical approach”.
He said: “We have defined what constitutes a ‘grower’ or a ‘shower’ in a scientific way, which will be important for the future.”
Professor Maarten Albersen, of the European Association of Urology, said while being a grower or a shower may have no medical consequence, the definition may still be useful.
He said: “This is a frequent area of concern for our patients and the emphasis should be on normalising baseline and erectile length for all.”
The average man in Britain measures around 3.4in when flaccid, previous research has shown.
But size when standing to attention has grown massively in the last 30 years, jumping from 4.8in in 1992 to 6in in 2021.
The latest study, presented at European Association of Urology (EAU) Congress in Milan, scanned 225 when they were flaccid and erect.
They found more than half of the men fit between the grower and shower categories.
A quarter were showers, while 24 per cent were growers.
Researchers found a part of tissue called the tunica albuginea which surrounds the penis became thinner for growers when they were erect.
Dr Alonso-Isa said: “This makes sense as the tissue is being stretched further.
“So it could be that this tissue has more elastic fibres in men who are growers than those who are showers.
“But we need to do more research to prove this hypothesis.”