FERTILITY FACTORS

“Lifestyle is the biggest influence on fertility in men,” says Dr Jeff Foster, a GP who specialises in men’s health. Here’s what you need to know

OBESITY

“The biggest cause of low sperm count in the UK is obesity. If you are significantly overweight, that leads to more insulin resistance, which in turn causes more oestrogen to appear in your sperm and your testosterone levels drop.”

ALCOHOL

“We know that patients with chronic alcohol use can have suppressed sperm count – and I don’t mean the guy sitting in the town centre drinking special brew. I’m talking about the relatively well-off guy who might be having three glasses of wine a night. That doesn’t seem excessive, but it is still enough to reduce testosterone over time.”

STEROIDS

“Anabolic steroids, especially in the younger age groups, are proving to be a big issue. There’s a higher prevalence in steroid use in men than I’ve ever known.”

AGE

“Men’s fertility does go down with age. And not only fertility, but the quality of sperm as well. You can't keep putting things off assuming that it’s going to be OK. There’s a cultural and societal suggestion that somehow everything just keeps going and everything is going to be fine – that it [infertility] is a women-only problem.”