I am sick of hearing all the radio ads for
Testosterone! There are some men who suffer with low testosterone due to medical
issues and modest ebbing of this male hormone with age is reasonable. But that
is not the entire story.
Like other
health conditions, research suggests that falling testosterone levels may be
caused more by a bulging waistline than anything else.
A study conducted by scientists at St. Vincent's
University Hospital in Dublin, Ireland, suggests that weight loss in overweight
men can reduce the prevalence of low testosterone by nearly 50%.
Nine hundred subjects participated in the study. All
were overweight, pre-diabetic males. The average subject age was 54.
Subjects were divided into one of three treatment
groups:
Treatment 1: 150 minutes of exercise weekly plus a
low-calorie, low-fat diet.
Treatment 2: The diabetes drug Metformin.
Treatment 3: A placebo pill.
Over the course of a year, only the men in treatment
group 1 experienced an increase in testosterone. The men in this group lost an
average of 17 pounds. The more weight and inches around the waist the men lost,
the greater the increase in testosterone.
Dr. Frances Hayes, one of the scientists who
conducted the study, stated "'Doctors should first encourage overweight
men with low testosterone levels to try to lose weight through diet and
exercise before resorting to testosterone therapy to raise their hormone
levels."
The results of other studies suggest that older men
with higher levels of testosterone are at less risk of losing muscle mass and
lower-body strength.
Work Smarter; Not Harder!
Dr David Marcon
Marcon Chiropractic & Wellness Center
Cincinnati Ohio 45255
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