Sexual health expert Dr Rena Malik has revealed the truth behind the viral rumours of ‘Ozempic penis’.

For those of you who aren’t too familiar with the side effects of GIP and GLP-1 drugs or keep up to date with the sexual exploits of Jelly Roll and his wife Bunnie Xo, the concept of ‘Ozempic penis’ may be something which is a little alien to you.

So let me break it down.

One of the reported side effects of taking Ozempic, which is a diabetes drug, or weight loss equivalents, Mounjaro and Wegovy, is the perception of a bigger manhood.

The phenomenon went viral after Bunnie Xo shared secrets about her bedroom experience with her husband, telling The Howard Stern Show that his appendage now looks ‘severely bigger’.

“I will tell you that it is very true that when a man loses weight, it grows a lot,” she said.

(Getty Stock Images)

So is she telling the truth? Well, not exactly, but there’s a pretty solid reason why many people reported noticing a difference in penis size after using GLP-1 medication.

Dr Malik addressed the rumours during an interview on a recent episode of the Diary of CEO podcast, revealing that perceived changes to the length of the appendage are due to a reduction in the size of the ‘fat pad’ which sits directly above the groin.

“Now you can see more of your penis,” she explained. “It’s not actually your penis getting longer. It’s that this fat is going down, so now you’re seeing more of your penis.”

In short, it’s not actually getting longer but instead just appears to be growing.

A win is a win, I guess?

Dr Malik also discussed the impact which using GLP-1 drugs can have on your sex life more broadly, revealing there are both positives and potential negatives.

(Getty Stock Images)

“So the benefits are improvements to metabolic diseases, diabetes, heart disease [and] overall health,” Dr Malik began. “So that is going to mean that your blood vessels healhier [and] you’re more able to get blood flow to genitals and have stronger sexual function and arousal.”

“So that’s great,” she continued. “The other thing is that you’re losing weight, so you feel better.”

However, Dr Malik did explain that changes to the brain’s reward complex may have an inadvertent effect on your sex life.

“Because it works on the same pathways, there’s a theoretical [theory] that it could also decrease desire for sex,” she explained. “People might not even realise that their sexual desire is changing.”

However, Dr Malik was quick to caution that studies are still in the initial stages. There has also been no direct link established in current clinical trials, however this could change with time.

“If you feel that you have less desire for sex, talk to your doctor because maybe your dose is too high and it needs to come down a bit,” she added.

The argument that men have a higher sex drive and are ready to go at any given time of the day is a tale as old as time. But how accurate is it?

According to scientific research, things are a little less straightforward, with human interest in sex depending on numerous variables outside of biology, including personality traits, societal expectations and evolutionary factors.

For a long time, the dominant belief has been that a person’s sex drive is linked solely to their testosterone levels, which is why men collectively were assumed to have a libido.

However, it’s actually more complex, with marriage and family therapist Sarah Hunter Murray calling this argument an ‘oversimplified notion’ in her book Not Always in the Mood: The New Science of Men, Sex, and Relationships.

So, is there any truth behind the stereotype?

It’s an age old question (Getty Stock Images)

Evolutionary factors

As The Bloodhound Gang infamously reminded us in their 1999 song ‘The Bad Touch’ – “You and me, baby, ain’t nothin’ but mammals” – humans at their core are animals, despite the fact that we all wear clothes, go to work and invented society.

However, we haven’t totally been able to shake off our evolutionary instincts.

In a psychology article titled ‘Is a Man’s Sex Drive Really Much Stronger Than a Woman’s?’ David Ludden argues that the role of child-rearing plays a role in a person’s sex drive.

For a person assigned female at birth, their ability to have children is limited by pregnancy, whereas a person assigned male at birth can have significantly more children with numerous sexual partners.

Evolutionary and biological factors such as childrearing can play a role (Getty Stock Images)

Human children also remain with their parents for longer than other animals, which he suggests could also play a factor in women wanting to find a stable partner before embarking on a sexual relationship.

Societal influences

Society has also played a crucial role in how sexuality is expressed, which in turn influences research.

Traditionally, it has been more socially acceptable for men to discuss sex and sexual desire than it has for women, and while this is now changing, it still impacts how people view gender and libido.

“Our social norms and the ways we’re raised to either lean into our sexuality or repress it have a huge impact on how we experience our sexuality and how we report it in studies,” Hunter Murray explained to WebMD.

“People raised as men in our society have been typically given more permission to speak openly about wanting sex, while young women have often been told not to express their sexuality.”

As can societal expectations (Getty Stock Images)

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SEX EXPERT SHARES ‘OPTIMAL AMOUNT OF TIMES TO HAVE SEX’ PER WEEK

Blanket statements such as ‘biological men want to have intercourse more than biological women do’ also don’t take into account differences within the sexes. While studies may show that, on average, a man might have a higher sex drive than a woman, this doesn’t discount men having particularly low sex drives or women having particularly high ones.

It’s also important to note that there isn’t a standardised way to measure a person’s sex drive, and there has also been limited research regarding sexual desire in trans and non-binary people.

So, do men actually have a higher sex drive? I’m afraid it’s one of those yes and no questions.

Scientists have sat down with women to find out exactly how large their sexual partner’s todger would be in an ideal world, with participants admitting they’d like a bigger appendage for a one-night stand than they would for a boyfriend.

Back in 2015, researchers recruited women in California who were at least 18, attracted to men and willing to give a little of their time for $20 to choose their preferred penile proportions from among 33 different models.

They were asked two questions. First: “What would be the ideal size for a husband or serious, long-term boyfriend?”

The second question involved significantly more scene-setting: “Imagine you’re single and you’re out at a restaurant with some friends. You meet an attractive man who is also single. He seems kind, intelligent, funny, and has a great job.

“You are feeling sexually aroused. He says he’s in town for a conference but he has to fly back home tomorrow afternoon. If you could spend only this one night with him, what size would you want him to be?”

Fortunately for those gentlemen who hold some concern over whether they’re adequately measuring up as far as their third leg is concerned the results would be quite reassuring.

It also turns out the preferred penis size between the various categories of relationship isn’t really that different.

If you were creating a category for ‘average’ then women would appear to prefer the upper end of that (Getty Stock Photo)

What women want

According to the study, women’s ideal penis size in a long term partner is 6.3 inches (16cm) long when erect, and with a circumference of 4.8 inches (12.2cm).

However, for someone they were only hooking up with on a short term basis the preferential pizzle was slightly larger at 6.4 inches (16.3cm) when erect and with a five inch (12.7cm) circumference.

This expectation lines up pretty well with the upper end of the average penis size, as according to Lloyds Pharmacy, the average erect length of a penis around the world ranged from 4.7 inches to 6.3 inches, or 5.45 inches (13.8cm) erect if you want to put a single figure on it.

Women’s preferred penis size vs the global average (LADbible)

That’s basically what the women who participated in the study had named as their preferred penis size in a long-term partner, so it seems as though the upper end of average is where the real preference lies.

The average erect circumference is 4.7 inches (12cm) – just a little under what the women were asking for.

However, other research into preferred penis size looking at body shape and penis length found that bigger was typically more desired as positive feedback increased with size, though women rated the second largest group as slightly more preferred so perhaps there is such a thing as too much.

Does size mean satisfaction?

The researchers found that 84 percent of women were satisfied with the size of their partner’s penis, so it really doesn’t matter for the vast majority of those who are concerned.

A study from Australia on the level of satisfaction reported from sexual encounters found that beyond a certain point, there was a diminishing return on the level of satisfaction that comes with more length.

Women who were surveyed said their ideal penis was 6.3 inches in length, but they also largely weren’t bothered about their partner’s size (Getty Stock Photo)

Another piece of research indicates that for women, girth matters more than length when it comes to satisfying sex, but having an emotional connection with a partner was seen as a far more important factor to a good sexual experience.

There’s been even more studies into this, which underline that there’s little point having all the gear and no idea, as being good at sex doesn’t hinge on how large a penis is involved.

Those researchers found that women were actually more likely to have an orgasm with shallow penetration that only used the tip of the penis, really underlining that bigger doesn’t mean better.

“There’s actually a lot more important factors, like my emotional connection or how he uses it, instead of length.” (Getty Stock Photo)

What do men think?

A lot of men are stressed out about the size of their penis, as according to Ro most guys overestimate what the average is and how they’re supposed to be measuring up.

A majority think the average penis size when erect is over six inches, when it’s really more like five-and-a-half, though the upper bracket of average does extend to about those dimensions.

Mistaking the upper boundary of what you’d call average for the actual midpoint is a mistake many men make.

For men who really want to make their penis seem larger, it seems the answer is losing some weight, as having a leaner body around that area makes it look larger by comparison.

A sex therapist has revealed what her answer is whenever someone asks her ‘how often should I be having sex’.

For some reason, people are often curious to know what a ‘healthy amount’ of sexual intercourse looks like, as relationship expert Charlene Douglas points out.

Speaking to LADbible Stories during an Honesty Box session, the Married at First Sight star says she gets asked the question all the time when she’s out and about.

“So oftentimes, I’ll go to a bar and people will find out that I’m a sex therapist and they’ll say to me, ‘How many times should you really be having sex like in a week?’

“And they’re all waiting for my answer. Everyone leans in waiting for me to give that number to work out whether they’re in the normal range or not.”

The sex expert has revealed how often couples have sex per week ‘statistically’ (Getty Stock Images)

Douglas notes that ‘statistically speaking’, once a week is the average frequency for most couples, but that number ‘goes up and down’ based on different factors like stress and financial struggles.

“If you’re not having sex in your relationship, it doesn’t mean it’s all doom and gloom. It might just be that you need to have a conversation if that is something that’s important for you,” she said.

Again, statistically, Douglas claims that ‘lesbians are having the best sex‘ because ‘they know their bodies’.

“There isn’t a sexual script that tells them exactly how things should go. They’re able to just do what works for them,” she says.

Sex and relationship therapist Charlene Douglas explains what she sees as a ‘healthy relationship’ (YouTube/LADbible Stories)

“They know their bodies. They know each other’s bodies. They’re taking their time.

“They’re having the most orgasms. There’s no kind of like taboos. They’re just having fun.”

When it comes to defining a healthy relationship, the TV personality highlights the importance of trust, loyalty, and boundaries, without ‘feeling judged, criticised, disrespected, or belittled’.

“You want to have someone that protects you, that loves you, that defends you, that supports you, that supports your dreams,” Douglas explained.

“In terms of a healthy relationship though, there might be times where if your partner’s going through something, they may not be able to give you all that you need, but it’s for you to kind of make a judgment in terms of how you feel.

“Oftentimes, we don’t really listen to our bodies, in terms of how something is making us feel.

“And I think actually our bodies often tell us whether we feel emotionally safe in a situation or not.”