It turns out that men are not peeing the correct way. A top urologist has claimed men should always sit down to pee because it’s better for their health.
Consultant urological surgeon Dr Gerald Collins dropped the bombshell last week, following a survey on how men choose to urinate.
A YouGov poll, which quizzed more than 7,000 men from 13 countries, found 40 per cent of German men always sit down to pee.
This compares to just 9 per cent of Brits and 10 per cent of Americans.
Mr Collins, who works at Alexandra Hospital, a private hospital in Cheshire, claimed the Germans have got it right.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Mr Collins said he believes that how men urinate has likely evolved as a matter of convenience and circumstance.
‘The bottom line is, if you’re on a golf course, and you need to nip behind a tree, you can get away with doing that,’ he said.
‘Whereas if you squat and drop your pants, it could be a much more awkward scenario.’
But that doesn’t mean it’s the best way health-wise.
The urologist said sitting down is ‘probably the most efficient’ way to pee, as researchers in the Netherlands found in 2014 that a seated position makes it easier for your bladder to ’empty faster and more completely’.
The researchers, from Leiden University Medical Centre, say this is down to the pelvic and spine muscles being completely relaxed when sat down, making it easier to urinate.
However when you are a stood up, those muscles are activated and the tension can lead to not all urine leaving the bladder.
Sitting, the study says, is particularly beneficial for those with lower urinary tract issues and an enlarged prostate – both issues that can become worse with age.
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) affects most men at some point in life, with 80 per cent of those in their 80s living with the condition.
BPH is where the prostate gland and surrounding tissue expands, blocking the urethra and making urination more challenging.
And if the bladder is not emptied properly, men with BPH can develop bladder stones, UTIs and kidney infections – so sitting down to pee is recommended.
In Germany, there are signs in many public bathrooms urging men to sit down when they pee – often to maintain cleanliness.
Those who choose to sit are called ‘Sitzpinklers’, meaning sitting widdlers.
The term is an offensive slur, directed at men deemed to be ‘wimpy or effeminate’.
