Obese teen boys have up to 50 percent less testosterone than
lean boys, significantly increasing their risk of impotence and
infertility in later life, according to the results of a new UB
study.
“These findings demonstrate that the effect of obesity is
powerful, even in the young—and that lifestyle and
nutritional intake starting in childhood have major repercussions
throughout all stages of life,” says first author Paresh
Dandona, MD, PhD.
Dandona and his colleagues were the first group to report low
testosterone levels in obese, Type 2 diabetic adult men, results
they confirmed in a 2010 study.
“We were surprised to observe a 50 percent reduction in
testosterone in this pediatric study because these obese males were
young and were not diabetic,” says Dandona, SUNY
Distinguished Professor of medicine
and chief of the endocrinology and
metabolism division.
The study results send a grim message with major epidemiological
consequences, he adds.
“The implications of our findings are, frankly, horrendous
because these boys are potentially impotent and
infertile.”
The UB researchers measured total and free testosterone and
estradiol concentrations in morning fasting blood samples of 25
obese and 25 lean males between the ages of 14 and 20.
The study’s results must be confirmed with a larger number
of subjects, Dandona says.
In addition to the reproductive consequences, the absence or low
levels of testosterone increases the tendency toward abdominal fat
and reduced muscle, he explains. This leads to insulin resistance,
which contributes to diabetes.
Researchers already have determined that testosterone levels
return to normal when obese adult men undergo gastric bypass
surgery.
Next, Dandona and his colleagues plan to study whether losing
weight via lifestyle changes or pharmaceutical intervention can
increase testosterone levels in obese teen boys.
Comment(?)
