You’ve probably seen the news reports this week – a study from Israeli researchers has found a staggering drop of nearly 60% in the sperm count of Western men!
This decrease has happened rapidly over the past 40 years and begs the question – will there be any fertile men left by 2057??
It all sounds rather like the latest plotline in a Dan Brown novel, except there isn’t some big baddie behind the whole thing. Well, that we know of…
While the study, which was published in the Human Reproduction Update Journal, wasn’t examining the causes of the drop, plenty have been quick to blame Western culture for the dramatic decline.
Men are heavier and unhealthier than ever before thanks to a poor diet and lack of exercise and obesity has a direct impact on male fertility levels.
The authors of the study are urging that we look into the causes and implications of the study results as soon as possible.
So should we be panicking that our children will struggle to produce grandkids for us? Or that Western civilisation as we know it will be fading fast?
Not necessarily. If the cause is down to lifestyle factors then this can be reversed by improving our health and general wellbeing with a more balanced and nutritious diet, alongside getting more active.
However, that is much easier said than done and would involve a huge cultural shift away from a life of fast food, Netlix and using four wheels instead of two legs to pop to the local shop.
Scientists have been quick to point out that while sperm rates are dropping, men are still producing 50 million swimmers per ejaculate, which seems like plenty to us.
The science behind fertility treatments such as IVF is improving at an incredible rate too, so it looks like us humans will be around for a while longer.
Which brings us on to a topic for another day – where will we all live when the population reaches every corner of the planet and we run out of room and resources to enjoy our first world lifestyle??
Check out the latest news about the study below:
Find out more about men’s sexual health topics at Andrology Australia.