Men's health

Men’s Average Testosterone Levels Have Halved in 50 years

Is this a chemically-driven public health emergency or a lifestyle problem blown out of proportion?

Published JUL 8

Men’s Average Testosterone Levels Have Halved in 50 years

Story

Above: Testosterone packaging lies on a table in Hamburg on April 17, 2025. Image credit: Marcus Brandt/picture alliance/Getty Images

The Facts

Average testosterone levels in men fell by 54% between 1972 and 2019, according to findings presented at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in London Tuesday. The meta-analysis drew on data from 118,593 men across Israel, the U.S., Brazil, Finland and Denmark.
The Asia Business Daily
guardian
The research, led by Prof. Hagai Levine of the Hebrew University-Hadassah Braun School of Public Health in Israel, found testosterone declined by more than 1% per year across six longitudinal studies, with the rate of decline appearing to accelerate after 2000.
The Guardian
The Asia Business Daily
Rising obesity and diabetes are identified as major contributors to declining testosterone, as excess body fat converts testosterone into estrogen while insulin resistance impairs signals from the brain that trigger testosterone production.
Pubmed
The Asia Business Daily
While age was taken into account in the studies, researchers affirmed that the influence of obesity on testosterone levels cannot be overlooked, with evidence suggesting that obesity may explain 25% to 50% of the decline in these levels.
guardian
The Asia Business Daily
A separate study using U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data found that mean total testosterone levels in adolescent and young adult males aged 15 to 39 declined consistently between 1999 and 2016, with elevated body mass index (BMI) associated with lower levels.
Spital Clinic
Pubmed
Experts have raised concerns about the rise in testosterone supplement use, warning that it can suppress the body's natural sperm production. U.K. testosterone prescriptions rose 135% between 2021 and 2024, driven in part by direct-to-consumer men's health companies marketing on social media.
guardian
Business Insider

Sources Split

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CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

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ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

This is a full-blown public health emergency that isn't getting nearly enough attention. Obesity, diabetes and endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in everyday household products are driving this collapse in male reproductive health. Sperm counts have also cratered over the same period, with the science too consistent across too many countries to dismiss.

Dave Lawrence on X

Guardian

Narrative B

The alarm over falling testosterone and sperm counts deserves serious scrutiny before prompting panic. A study of Danish sperm donor applicants found no significant change in sperm concentration between 2017 and 2022, directly challenging the sweeping meta-analyses driving these headlines. Additionally, obesity and diabetes alone could account for the entire testosterone decline, meaning changeable lifestyle factors — not some mysterious environmental crisis — are the real culprit.

University of Manchester

The Asia Business Daily