5 ms·

I claim not that it is the whole effect size, but certainly the massive drop in testosterone must account for some of it. Would be interesting to see the state

I claim not that it is the whole effect size, but certainly the massive drop in testosterone must account for some of it. Would be interesting to see the state-by-state, year-by-year correlation.

AnimalMuppet 8y ago
Going off topic, but: Does anyone know what's causing the drop in testosterone?
- ummonk 8y ago
  Sedentary lifestyle and pthalates seem to be at least a part of the story.
- ashleyn 8y ago
  Possibly the fact that we've locked up everyone who has high testosterone.
  - krapp 8y ago
    > Possibly the fact that we've locked up everyone who has high testosterone. Do you know what a "fact" is? Because this isn't one.
- zackmorris 8y ago
  After working out for 20 years, here's what I've learned anecdotally: * Testosterone is proportional to lean mass and inversely proportional to fat mass. * Cholesterol is a precursor to testosterone, so gen x being raised with the "eggs are bad" mentality lowered testosterone. * Sugar and carbs cause body fat increase, not fat/saturated fat/cholesterol. * High weight, low reps like the 5x5 workout seem to raise testosterone and strength better than 3x8-12, but power lifting fell out of fashion in the 80s, 90s and early 2000s due to injury concerns which were unjustified. Luckily, this is reversing due to the instruction available on YouTube. * Lower and misallocated funding for public education has resulted in poor school lunch programs and no money available for extracurricular activities like strength training during adolescence when testosterone is highest. * Phytoestrogens in factory farm foods like soy antagonize testosterone in boys and cause early puberty in girls. * Our economy moved from industry to information, so gen x and millennials are far more sedentary than baby boomers and previous generations. I'll let other commenters expand on that!
  - derefr 8y ago
    Testosterone is dropping in all animals worldwide, not just in humans in the Western world. It's even dropping in fish in the deep ocean!
    - zackmorris 8y ago
      Hmm ya you're right. I should probably have included the increase in birth control pill runoff in sewage. Also, chemicals in plastic like Bisphenol A (BPA) mimic estrogen, and that's probably most responsible.
  - ZeroFries 8y ago
    * Testosterone increases lean mass and decreases fat mass. I think you have the relationship backwards * Your body creates cholesterol, dietary cholesterol hasn't been shown to increase hormone production AFAIK, might want to link some studies if you can find them * Calories increase body fat, no particular macronutrient has been shown to be disproportionatelly fattening. The insulin hypothesis is mostly incorrect. * Different workouts produce different hormone reactions in different individuals. Even so, the effect is transient and unluckily to modify average testosterone levels * Phytoestrogens in normal dietary amounts likely have minimal effects on testosterone My personal hypothesis is that the environmental load of various endocrine disruptors from plastics, pharmaceuticals, hygiene products, clothes, etc, has increased dramatically.
    - UnFleshedOne 8y ago
      Re: calories increase fat -- this can't be full picture, I can eat pretty much anything and not gain weight (I never tried a sugar loaded diet of coke and cookies though), and I understand this is not so for many people. I think "calories increase body fat" is a correct, but a very low resolution statement. One can say that it will rain in the summer sometimes when there is more water in the air than the air can hold. But what else affects it? Can you say that today the chance of rain is 20% and tomorrow it is 40%?

I claim not that it is the whole effect size, but certainly the massive drop in testosterone must account for some of it. Would be interesting to see the state-by-state, year-by-year correlation.

AnimalMuppet 8y ago

Going off topic, but: Does anyone know what's causing the drop in testosterone?

ummonk 8y ago
Sedentary lifestyle and pthalates seem to be at least a part of the story.
ashleyn 8y ago
Possibly the fact that we've locked up everyone who has high testosterone.
- krapp 8y ago
  > Possibly the fact that we've locked up everyone who has high testosterone. Do you know what a "fact" is? Because this isn't one.
zackmorris 8y ago
After working out for 20 years, here's what I've learned anecdotally: * Testosterone is proportional to lean mass and inversely proportional to fat mass. * Cholesterol is a precursor to testosterone, so gen x being raised with the "eggs are bad" mentality lowered testosterone. * Sugar and carbs cause body fat increase, not fat/saturated fat/cholesterol. * High weight, low reps like the 5x5 workout seem to raise testosterone and strength better than 3x8-12, but power lifting fell out of fashion in the 80s, 90s and early 2000s due to injury concerns which were unjustified. Luckily, this is reversing due to the instruction available on YouTube. * Lower and misallocated funding for public education has resulted in poor school lunch programs and no money available for extracurricular activities like strength training during adolescence when testosterone is highest. * Phytoestrogens in factory farm foods like soy antagonize testosterone in boys and cause early puberty in girls. * Our economy moved from industry to information, so gen x and millennials are far more sedentary than baby boomers and previous generations. I'll let other commenters expand on that!
- derefr 8y ago
  Testosterone is dropping in all animals worldwide, not just in humans in the Western world. It's even dropping in fish in the deep ocean!
  - zackmorris 8y ago
    Hmm ya you're right. I should probably have included the increase in birth control pill runoff in sewage. Also, chemicals in plastic like Bisphenol A (BPA) mimic estrogen, and that's probably most responsible.
- ZeroFries 8y ago
  * Testosterone increases lean mass and decreases fat mass. I think you have the relationship backwards * Your body creates cholesterol, dietary cholesterol hasn't been shown to increase hormone production AFAIK, might want to link some studies if you can find them * Calories increase body fat, no particular macronutrient has been shown to be disproportionatelly fattening. The insulin hypothesis is mostly incorrect. * Different workouts produce different hormone reactions in different individuals. Even so, the effect is transient and unluckily to modify average testosterone levels * Phytoestrogens in normal dietary amounts likely have minimal effects on testosterone My personal hypothesis is that the environmental load of various endocrine disruptors from plastics, pharmaceuticals, hygiene products, clothes, etc, has increased dramatically.
  - UnFleshedOne 8y ago
    Re: calories increase fat -- this can't be full picture, I can eat pretty much anything and not gain weight (I never tried a sugar loaded diet of coke and cookies though), and I understand this is not so for many people. I think "calories increase body fat" is a correct, but a very low resolution statement. One can say that it will rain in the summer sometimes when there is more water in the air than the air can hold. But what else affects it? Can you say that today the chance of rain is 20% and tomorrow it is 40%?