http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Indian_men_dont_measure_up/article...

The Times of India Online

Indian men don't measure up

            Madhavi Rajadhyaksha
            [ 8 Dec, 2006 0000 hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]

            MUMBAI: Scientists at the country's premier medical research
institute have just concluded an extensive two-year study of the penis sizes
of Indian men. In the next few months, they will recommend condom sizes that
are right for the Indian population so as to reduce the rate of failure.

            The data is still being collated and analysed by the Indian
Council of Medical Research (ICMR), but preliminary findings indicate that
condoms available in the market are oversized. "As per international
standards, most condoms are 150 mm to 180 mm in length and 44 to 56 mm in
width. But data collected in Mumbai till 2001 showed that 60% of the
participants measured 126 to 156 mm in length and 30% between 100 and 125
mm,'' said a city researcher, pointing out that there was a difference of at
least 5 cm in length.

            All the number-crunching is essentially expected to improve the
sizing of condoms which have a notorious failure rate of upto 20% in India.
"Studies have shown that failure rate of condoms was 2% in clinical trials,
but as high as 18 to 20% when studied among the general population. While
improper usage is one of the reasons, there is also condom slippage or tear
which is associated with the size of the condom in relation to an erect
penis," according to Dr Chander Puri, director of ICMR's National Institute
for Research in Reproductive Health in Parel.

            Condoms, latex sheaths devised as a contraceptive tool, have in
recent times also emerged as the best safeguard against sexually transmitted
diseases, especially the deadly HIV. An ill-fitting condom that slips or
ruptures defeats the purpose of wearing one.

            This was the genesis of the ambitious research study-'Study on
proper length and breadth specification for condoms based on anthropometric
measurement'. Apart from size, the study has correlated penis size with
socio-economic status, geographical location and overall dimensions of the
male. The ICMR, which has been coordinating the study, is likely to publish
its findings in early 2007.

            As part of their two-year survey of penis sizes of Indians,
researchers at the Indian Council of Medical Research have surveyed 1,400
men visiting family planning centres in seven hospitals including KEM in
Parel, AIIMS in Delhi and PGI, Chandigarh; the length and width of each
erect penis was measured twice and a digital photograph taken. In KEM
Hospital, it was the departments of urology and preventive and social
medicine which monitored participants. The group was an equal mix of urban
and rural folk in the 18-50 age group.

            The ICMR had requested Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi
to devise ways to measure an erect penis. "We had devised an automated
system in which an image of the penis would be taken and the computer would
interpret different dimensions," said professor of biomedical engineering,
IIT Kharagpur Sujoy Guha, who headed the project. However, this was later
discarded for a simple paper-tape that was found to be more practical.

            While ICMR scientists refused to comment on the findings "as the
data is still being analysed", sources admitted that a smaller exploratory
study had conclusively showed that the condoms presently available in the
market were indeed oversized for Indian men.

            The inter-city study drew much interest at the
recently-concluded Asia-Pacific Conference of the Society of Sexual Medicine
in Mumbai (even as the Germans are about to launch spray-on,
fit-for-all-sizes condoms). An international delegate at the conference
pointed out that if the study made geographical distinctions in sizes, it
may cause discomfort among men in different regions.

            The Indian condom industry too has concerns about the entire
exercise, especially since it seeks to establish that a large percentage of
condoms in the market are ill-fitting. Most of them insist that condom
failure is mostly due to improper use.

            "We already adhere to ISO specifications as far as sizes are
concerned," says an official of Hindustan Latex Limited. But aren't tears a
common complaint? Tears are mostly related to inferior material, he says.
And slippages? "Well, that could be related to size. But we already make
condoms in standard and extra-long sizes."

            The real concern is that "making condoms of different sizes may
not be practical unless there is a large demand." And will there be takers
for the smaller-sized condoms? Well, that could be a topic for another
psycho-socio study.

-----------------------------------------
Copyright ©2006Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved. For
reprint rights: Times Syndication Service

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com