Discussion summary
Men's average testosterone levels have halved over the last 50 years, with potential influences including lifestyle, diet, and environmental factors. Experts debate whether social changes or biological factors are more responsible.
What the discussion says
- Some believe lifestyle and diet are primary causes.
- Others argue social and cultural shifts impact testosterone levels.
- Skeptics question the validity of rapid biological changes.
“The decline may be linked to lifestyle and environmental factors.”
“Biology doesn't change that quickly; claims should be scrutinized.”
Comments
Hacker News
I wonder how this correlates to Prostate Cancer. From what I heard, high testosterone can be one of the causes of Prostate Cancer. But that is over a long time.
So if levels are falling, is prostate cancer lowering a little bit ? But that will be hard to determine due to the advancement of Medical Treatment over the past 50 years.
> Rising levels of obesity and diabetes
Plastic Bottles also replaced glass starting in the early 70s too. I remember reading some type of plastic can leak estrogen into the food. So seems a lot of things happened of the past 50/60 years that will impact ones health negatively.
by jmclnx
High cortisol lowers testosterone - some adaptogens like ashwagandha modulate the HPA axis and lower cortisol release, increasing T levels
I'm old, but I get this subjective read: of my friends and even family who had sons, they seemed smaller and less bold than we were 50 years ago.
by OldSchool
I really wonder, what is “normal”?
One class of doctors thinks roughly 250 is enough for a middle aged guy - anything over shouldn’t be medically treated. Of course, the “men’s clinics” don’t rest until it’s over 1000...
With the standard range so wide (even after age adjustment), why isn’t it measured annually, like the CBC and others?
Sure, it’s easy to point at obesity, but statistical ranges completely fail the individual.
by BobbyTables2
“The solution that’s being promoted is that we give you testosterone,” he said. “But if you give a man testosterone, you switch off his sperm production. I’ve seen that in the clinic.”
Interesting…
by xvxvx
I don’t understand why obesity seemingly gets tossed aside when this subject comes up.
It’s the one problem you can see in plain sight at any gathering of people.
by BoggleOhYeah
> Obesity was also not controlled for, which is known to be strongly correlated with low testosterone.
by idleplant
Before the reactions to the headline get too out of hand, the article says the study couldn’t rule out that obesity and diabetes might drive this change. Occam’s Razor leads me to lean on this more than any other exotic explanation.
Of course, PFAS and microplastics aren’t great for sperm health, but neither were leaded gasoline and DDT before they were curtailed.
by janalsncm
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- Hacker News
- I wonder how this correlates to Prostate Cancer. From what I heard, high testosterone can be one of the causes of Prostate Cancer. But that is over a long time.
So if levels are falling, is prostate cancer lowering a little bit ? But that will be hard to determine due to the advancement of Medical Treatment over the past 50 years.
> Rising levels of obesity and diabetes
Plastic Bottles also replaced glass starting in the early 70s too. I remember reading some type of plastic can leak estrogen into the food. So seems a lot of things happened of the past 50/60 years that will impact ones health negatively.
by jmclnx - High cortisol lowers testosterone - some adaptogens like ashwagandha modulate the HPA axis and lower cortisol release, increasing T levels
- I'm old, but I get this subjective read: of my friends and even family who had sons, they seemed smaller and less bold than we were 50 years ago.by OldSchool
- I really wonder, what is “normal”?
One class of doctors thinks roughly 250 is enough for a middle aged guy - anything over shouldn’t be medically treated. Of course, the “men’s clinics” don’t rest until it’s over 1000...
With the standard range so wide (even after age adjustment), why isn’t it measured annually, like the CBC and others?
Sure, it’s easy to point at obesity, but statistical ranges completely fail the individual.
by BobbyTables2 - “The solution that’s being promoted is that we give you testosterone,” he said. “But if you give a man testosterone, you switch off his sperm production. I’ve seen that in the clinic.”
Interesting…
by xvxvx - I don’t understand why obesity seemingly gets tossed aside when this subject comes up.
It’s the one problem you can see in plain sight at any gathering of people.
by BoggleOhYeah - > Obesity was also not controlled for, which is known to be strongly correlated with low testosterone.by idleplant
- Before the reactions to the headline get too out of hand, the article says the study couldn’t rule out that obesity and diabetes might drive this change. Occam’s Razor leads me to lean on this more than any other exotic explanation.
Of course, PFAS and microplastics aren’t great for sperm health, but neither were leaded gasoline and DDT before they were curtailed.
by janalsncm