Why do Scandinavians have small testicles? >Concerned wi

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Why do Scandinavians have small testicles?

>Concerned with a recent increase in male genital birth defects plus dropping sperm counts and higher rates of testicular cancer, Danish researchers have spent the last five years ranking their nether regions against those of the Finns. Both countries have excellent registry data, an accommodating research population, and a rivalry dating back to Viking-era tribes hitting one another with clubs. Whose cudgel is bigger? That is the question. Why should you care if you're neither Danish nor Finnish? Because the answer involves environmental toxins that have made their way around the globe.

>By all accounts, the Finns are winning hands-down (or up?) in the size wars. In a study of 1,600 babies born between 1997 and 2001, the Danes had smaller testicles than the Finns. Scientists know this because they expertly measured "ellipsoidal volume" and found the Danish package lagging at birth. The differences were even more pronounced after three months, with the Finns averaging three times more testicular growth. When these results were published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism in 2006, it was the Scandinavian equivalent of announcing Yale men have smaller nuts than Harvard men. The story "was very much in our media," says lead researcher Katharina Main of the University of Copenhagen. Another study measured baby penile lengths, showing boys with more testosterone had longer lads. "The Finns are doing so much better from every parameter, semen, testes size, and cancer," Main bemoaned.

http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex_health/2010/02/the_little_princes_of_denmark.html