A recent study says high and long exposure to chemicals used in making non-stick cookware may cause a decrease in the size of your penis.
The chemicals, known as perfluoroalkyl compounds (PFCs), are believed to interfere with male hormones, causing a decrease of up to half an inch and leading to infertility.
PFCs are found in a number of everyday items, including fast food packaging, waterproof clothing, glues, cosmetics, cleaning products, polishes and waxes, insecticides and paints.
The study, by researchers from the University of Padua, involved 383 male high-school students, including 212 who had been exposed to PFCs.
Padua is in one of four areas in the world known to have high levels of PFC pollution, which used to be used in Teflon coating until it was phased out in 2013.
The findings showed that young men who grew up in an area polluted with PFCs have penises 12.5 per cent shorter and 6.3 per cent thinner than healthy men.
According to the researchers, PFCs enter the blood stream, bind to testosterone receptors and reduce levels of the male sex hormone used in the body.
The chemicals can get into the body by being absorbed by the intestines from food and drinking water, or inhalation.
“This study documents that PFCs have a substantial impact on human male health as they directly interfere with hormonal pathways potentially leading to male infertility,” the study read.
“We found that increased levels of PFCs in plasma and seminal fluid positively correlate with circulating testosterone and with a reduction of semen quality, testicular volume, penile length, and AGD [anogenital distance].
“Interestingly, the majority of the exposed male population showed a reduction in testicular volume, penile length, and AGD, but not anthropometrics in males aged 18-19.
“The magnitude of the problem is alarming as it affects an entire generation of young individuals, from 1978 onwards.”
The research was published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
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