YOU would expect men concerned about their sexual prowess to do health check-ups in private, and not in the heart of Raffles Place on a weekday afternoon.

Still, about 160 of them gamely took on "masculinity challenges" and filled out the Kumamoto survey, a sexual health questionnaire from Japan, at the Potent Challenge roadshow yesterday.

Organised by the Society for Men's Health Singapore (SMHS), participants were asked to measure their testosterone levels through physical tests such as hitting a sledge hammer and squeezing a hand-grip repeatedly.

The results for the latter are measured by a hydraulic pressure gauge known as the Jamar Hand Dynamometer. A reading of 60 and below is considered low and indicative of testosterone deficiency, according to Dr Peter Lim, 58, a urologist surgeon and founder of the SMHS.

Freight rider Maina Mohd, 52, was among the 90 per cent who got a reading higher than 60.

"It's good exercise for the hand and does not feel like a check-up," he said. Participants with sexual health concerns also had on-the-spot consultations with general practitioners. However, a blood test is needed to determine if a man is truly testosterone deficient.

Dr Lim said: "Men often neglect looking after their health because they hate listening to advice. They don't want to acknowledge any vulnerability."

Besides trying to raise more awareness for symptoms like sexual dysfunction, testosterone deficiency and metabolic syndrome - a combination of medical disorders that increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes - Dr Lim hopes to survey more than 1,000 males aged 40 and above through the Kumamoto questionnaire.

Designed by Dr Y Kumamoto, a urologist at Japan's Sapporo Medical College, the survey is an Asian version of the Adam (Androgen Deficiency in the Aging Male) survey, a 19-page questionnaire used to measure men's health. Participants in both surveys are asked to rate the severity of symptoms such as anxiety, depression, sexual desire and urination patterns.

According to the last Adam survey conducted in Singapore in 2002, 29.6 per cent of 1,500 Singaporean males aged between 45 and 70 had mild erectile dysfunction. About 16.4 per cent had moderate symptoms while 13.3 per cent displayed severe symptoms.

Dr Lim hopes to present this year's Kumamoto survey findings at the third Japan-Asean Men's Health & Aging Conference to be held in Singapore in December. Still, participant Nala S, 43, a stockbroker, was more sceptical about the hand-grip test.

He said: "I can check my testosterone levels just by squeezing this? It's the first time I've heard of this.

debyong@sph.com.sg

The SMHS is offering the Kumamoto questionnaire at designated GP clinics in Singapore. Call 64733187, 62825205 or 65131299 for more information.