BENGALURU: As much as beefy biceps and six-packs are considered signs of fitness in men, spending too much effort to get a well-built body can have serious side-effects. A 32-year-old gym instructor was recently diagnosed with azoospermia, a medical condition causing infertility, which doctors say was a result of spending long hours in the gym and intake of steroids.
Mohan (name changed) and his 28-year-old wife consulted specialists at an infertility clinic in Koramangala after they were unable to conceive for three years. It was found that use of muscle-building steroids and consumption of protein shakes, along with excessive workout, had caused hormonal imbalance and affected his fertility, leading to the condition where the semen contains no sperms. Mohan’s work involved spending long hours exercising and coaching others at the gym.
“He was taking protein shakes and steroids in the form of tablets, given by the gym. The shakes have anabolic steroids, resembling testosterone, that leads to hormonal imbalance,” Dr Santosh Gupta, fertility consultant, Nova IVI Fertility, said
“The hormones in the body are suppressed by the use of artificial powders or shakes. In this case, this drastically impacted his sperm count. Excessive, strenuous exercise also causes an imbalance in the reproductive system.
He was advised to cut back on the exercise along with the steroids as well as cut down on the strenuous exercise,” she said, adding that, the protein shake brands may say that they don’t have steroids but one cannot say if it is true. The sperm analysis of men who consume them usually reveals a low sperm count.
Vigorous exercise – any physical activity that makes a person breathe hard and fast, making it hard to say more than a few words without pausing to take a breath – decreases fertility in men with normal weight, she said.
“Moderate exercise, on the other hand, if done for more than one hour and less than five hours per week, increases fertility in all men. This means they can do any exercise that will raise their heart rate, make them breathe faster and feel warmer. However, they would still be able to talk without pausing for breath,” she added.
While he was not obese or overweight, body weight also has a bearing on both male and female fertility. With men, extra fat affects the ratio of testosterone- oestrogen in the body which in turn causes sub-normal sperm count.