Fast food and lack of exercise lead to rapid fall in male sperm counts

♦ A poor lifestyle with too much fast food and not enough exercise is contributing to a rapid fall in male sperm counts, research has found.

Fertility clinics have seen a fall of almost 2 per cent a year in the number of healthy sperm produced by men already being treated for infertility, as well as in sperm donors.

Experts believe the decline is down to lifestyle – with men more sedentary than ever and obesity at record levels – and exposure to environmental chemicals that disrupt hormone levels.

Dr Peter Schlegel, president-elect of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, said: “The trend toward lower sperm counts is concerning. Whether the causes underlying it are environmental or lifestyle-related, they will be difficult to parse out.”

The first study found a decline from 2007 to 2017 in three key indicators of fertility: total sperm count, concentration and total motile sperm count. The second showed the number of sperm that can “swim” normally has also plummeted in the past 15 years.

Last year, scientists warned that falling sperm counts could lead to the “extinction of the human species” after a review of studies revealed that sperm counts had dropped by 60 per cent in only 40 years.