Gym Hormone Warning: 600,000 Men Face Hidden Fertility Risks
An urgent warning has been issued over a little-known side effect of performance-enhancing drugs taken by men to improve their physique. Viral injections and pills have boomed among gym-goers, fuelled largely by social media, but experts say half of men are unaware of life-changing implications.
Anabolic steroids and testosterone treatments, such as testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), directly suppress male fertility, sometimes permanently. Knowledge of this risk is worryingly low, say the Centre for Reproductive and Genetic Health (CRGH), a London fertility clinic.
How Performance-Enhancing Drugs Affect Male Fertility
Some 600,000 men across the UK are estimated to be taking hormone medications, with prescriptions from private clinics surging as men try to combat low libido and energy. Many are turning to the unregulated black market, buying testosterone treatments on social media or even on the gym floor. With usage of these drugs rising, health experts have raised renewed concerns about their impact on men's fertility.
More than 33 per cent of men have zero awareness that TRT and steroids can reduce sperm count to zero, according to a poll commissioned by the CRGH, in partnership with male fertility diagnostic specialist Examen. Almost 28 per cent of men admitted that they do not care about the impact these drugs have on their fertility.
Speaking about the risks of this rising trend, Wael Saab, a fertility consultant and medical director at CRGH, said: "If you walk into any gym or follow people on social media, you will see men tracking their macros, timing their workouts, and obsessing over every marginal gain."
Wael Saab added: "But when you look deeper, many of them are causing long term silent damage to their reproductive health. Whether it's unmonitored private prescriptions or gym-floor black market medication, the biological effect on the brain is the same: external testosterone shuts off natural hormone production. Combine that with daily hot tubs, saunas, and extreme diets, and men in their twenties are accidentally shutting down their fertility while trying to look their physical best."
Real-Life Impact of Steroid Use on Fatherhood
Brett Cole, now 43, is just one man with first-hand experience of the devastating impact of steroid use on fertility. When he and his wife Ali started trying for a baby in 2016, Brett assumed the path to fatherhood would be simple as he already had a child from a previous relationship and was in good physical shape. After years of trying, however, Brett was given the diagnosis of male factor infertility.
NHS investigations in 2019 revealed that Brett had a zero sperm count due to his regular use of steroids at the martial arts gym where he trained. From there, the couple entered a decade-long battle involving surgery and IVF. Speaking about his experience, Brett, from Kent, said: "When I realised I was the reason, it became so much harder. I felt entirely responsible. When you know your poor choices have caused this and then you have to watch your partner suffer through procedures themselves, even though it's not their fault, you still feel like you are the cause. That feeling stays with you."
Brett added: "Like most men, I thought I was invincible. I worked out regularly, but I also had a bad diet and drank at the weekends. I didn't even know male infertility was a thing until it happened to me. A phrase I heard from the lads at the gym was about men firing blanks. When I realised what was happening to me, I felt completely alone and disappointed in myself."
The Generational Knowledge Gap and Health-Maxxing Trends
Because Brett already had a son from his previous relationship, he and his wife were not entitled to NHS-funded IVF treatment. The couple went through a private clinic and multiple types of treatment, including having a daunting procedure involving a needle inserted through the skin and into the testicle. The treatment was a success and after several more bumps in the road, the couple got pregnant and welcomed their daughter Polly.
Dr Niki Chronopoulou, a fertility consultant at CRGH who worked with the couple, said: "Male fertility challenges can often be overlooked, potentially delaying diagnosis and access to appropriate support. Ensuring that men feel heard, supported and included is essential every step of the way."
CRGH's poll findings also revealed a large generational gap in men's knowledge about their sperm health. A shocking 73 per cent of 18 to 25 year olds said they were unaware that regular exposure to heat, such as daily gym saunas, steam rooms and hot tubs, damages sperm production. In slightly older men aged 36 to 40 years old, the figure was slightly lower, with almost 61 per cent unaware of the risks of regular heat exposure.
The survey found that 18 to 25 year olds are nearly three times more than older generations to participate in online health-maxxing trends than men aged 31 to 35, despite being the least informed about the severe reproductive fallout. Speaking about the importance for men to be aware of their fertility, Tristin Taylor, from Examen, said: "Men have never been more switched on about their health. They know their resting heart rate, their sleep score and their body fat to the decimal point. But almost none of us know a single number about our sperm, even though it's one of the most sensitive signals we have of what's going on inside the body."
Tristin Taylor added: "The answer isn't to put men off the gym. It's to give them a baseline, so they can see what their choices are actually doing and make decisions based on real data rather than whatever their feed is telling them."
Brett now hopes that sharing his story will break the silence around male factor infertility and encourage men to seek help, ask for second opinions if they don't feel comfortable with the advice being given, and open up about their struggles. "If there is one thing I learnt from my experience, finding the support is the hardest part," he said. "I really do hope by talking it will help at least one person open up and know this is more common than people realise."
