Two researchers warn men taking steroids or treatment for baldness that by seeking to be more attractive, they are seriously damaging their fertility.
Body dysmorphic disorders and social pressure to please the opposite sex are not always the lot of women.
To become or remain attractive, more and more men do not hesitate to take drug treatments to, for example, develop their muscles or keep their hair. However, this quest for desirability can have harmful effects on their fertility.
This is highlighted by two researchers, Dr. James Mossman and Professor Allan Pacey. In an article published in the Journal of Internal Medicine, they analyze what they named after their two names the Mossman-Pacey paradox: namely that to remain sexually attractive, some men damage their “evolutionary form” by reducing their fertility and thereby their chances of transmitting their Genoa.
Conflict between masculinity and musculature
This is especially the case for men using anabolic steroids (AAS) to “bulk up” their muscles or those taking finasterise to treat baldness. However, both of these drugs have been proven to reduce fertility and can cause erectile dysfunction.
“Some men use and abuse drugs to improve their body characteristics – presumably to increase their attractiveness – and these drugs paradoxically render them infertile,” Dr. Mossman tells the site. IFLScience. Thus, their perceived “fitness” and their evolutionary “fitness” are in direct conflict since evolutionary fitness is measured as the number of offspring. “In evolutionary terms, no sperm = no babies = no fitness,” write the two authors. “In other words, many men set the unattainable goal of being physically fit and scalable when using steroids, and put their masculinity and muscularity in direct conflict.”
A decreased chance of conceiving
Anabolic steroids are drugs that increase muscle mass by synthetically producing testosterone. They can, however, block actual production of the hormone by “tricking” the brain’s pituitary gland, the region that controls hormone glands. These then stop the production of the two hormones that make the sperm fertile.
As for finasteride, used to treat hair loss in men, it is known to cause sexual dysfunction and infertility.
The paradox therefore lies in this illusion: at first glance, these men seem genetically superior and have a good chance of transmitting their genes. However, these treatments reduce their chances of transmitting them.
Better inform young people about the dangers of anabolics
Fortunately, this damage is reversible: men using these treatments will be able to regain their fertility, although it may take up to a year for sperm levels to return to normal. However, researchers warn against the abuse of steroids, which can cause permanent infertility.
Now Prof Pacey and Dr Mossman want to better educate young men about the dangers of steroid use, which they call a “growing public health concern”. Steroid abuse “keeps popping up in clinics and the message isn’t getting to young men that it’s a problem and that a little information could save them a lot of heartache.”
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