Men know more about their car than their most important hormone

Most men are familiar with the word testosterone. Surprisingly few know what the hormone actually does - or what can happen when levels drop.

Ask a man when his car was last serviced. He can often tell you when the oil was changed, how far the tires have worn, and what noises need to be checked.

Ask the same man what happens to testosterone after the age of 30–40, and the answer often becomes significantly more uncertain.

It's actually quite strange.

Testosterone affects sex drive, muscle mass, bones, blood formation, energy and well-being, among other things. Yet many men go through half their lives without even having gained basic knowledge about their most important sex hormone.

They may notice that recovery has become worse. That the muscles do not respond as before. That fat accumulates more easily around the stomach. That energy, initiative or sex drive have changed.

But instead of investigating the matter, they say, “I guess I’m just getting old.”

Men have learned to function not to feel sorry for themselves.

This is probably a big part of the explanation. Many men have grown up with the idea that problems should be solved in silence. You should bite the bullet, keep working, and not make a big deal out of how you feel. Talking about fatigue, depression, decreased sex drive, or erection problems can feel much harder than talking about a sore knee.

It's not just about health. For many, the issue goes straight into their own identity.

Testosterone has become so strongly associated with strength, sexuality, and masculinity that low levels can be perceived as a personal failure. In such cases, it is easier to remain silent than to ask.

But the body doesn't care about pride.

Women have a language that men lack

Women face hormonal issues throughout much of their lives: menstruation, contraception, pregnancy and menopause. They don't automatically have all the knowledge, but they more often have a language to talk about the changes and natural contexts in which the issues can be raised.

Men have almost no equivalent.

There is rarely any established conversation about the hormonal aging of men. No obvious checkpoint where someone says: “Now you’re over 40. Let’s talk about sleep, sex drive, muscle mass, abdominal fat, recovery and testosterone.” That’s why many men don’t seek help until the problems become clear. And sometimes they don’t seek help at all.

Change comes stealthily

The so-called male menopause is not a direct equivalent to the female menopause. The hormonal change in women occurs over a more clearly defined period. In men, the decline in testosterone usually occurs slowly and over several decades.

In the large European EMAS study, total testosterone decreased on average by about 0.4 percent per year, while free testosterone decreased by about 1.3 percent per year. The development differs greatly between different men and is influenced by factors such as weight, sleep, illness, medications and lifestyle.

It is therefore more accurate to say that free, bioavailable testosterone can often decrease by about one percent per year – not that all men automatically lose two percent of their total testosterone each year.

Because the change is gradual, the man gets used to it. He rarely sees a dramatic difference from one month to the next. But if you compare how he feels at 55 to how he felt at 40, the difference can be significant.

It's not all testosterone

Here too we must be careful.

Fatigue, abdominal obesity, poor sleep, depression, decreased muscle mass and lower sex drive can have many causes. Stress, alcohol, obesity, diabetes, depression, sleep apnea and certain medications can cause similar symptoms. They can also contribute to lower testosterone levels.

You should therefore neither ignore the symptoms nor self-diagnose yourself after a film on social media.

Testosterone deficiency is not determined by feeling a little tired. The assessment should be based on both relevant symptoms and repeated blood tests taken in the morning, along with a medical investigation of possible underlying causes.

The goal is not for all men to be treated with testosterone. The goal is for more men to understand their bodies well enough to know when something should be investigated.

Ignorance has been challenged by incorrect knowledge

Testosterone used to be almost unheard of. Now the hormone is everywhere on social media.

It may sound like progress, but much of the information is simplistic or commercial. Testosterone is sometimes presented as a shortcut to bigger muscles, a stronger sex drive, more energy, and eternal youth.

This creates two problems at the same time.

One group of men knows almost nothing and dismisses their symptoms as normal aging. The other group believes that every slump is due to low testosterone and that more hormone is always better.

Both groups need better knowledge.

It's time for men to start speaking up

Knowing your blood pressure, blood sugar, blood lipids, and hormones is not vanity. Nor is it a sign of weakness to seek help when your body or mind changes.

On the contrary.

Finding out what's happening is taking responsibility for your health, your relationship, and the years ahead.

We therefore need to talk more openly about men's hormonal aging, but do so without shame, exaggeration, and promises of miracles.

Because the most important question is not whether you still feel as manly as you did when you were 25.

The important question is:

How do you want to feel, function and live in the next 20 or 30 years and how much do you really know about the body that will get you there?

Kennet Båth Founder of Bodyweight Diet

Medical Note: The term “male menopause” or andropause is used in everyday language, but is not an exact equivalent of female menopause. The medical term is often age-related testosterone deficiency or late hypogonadism. Symptoms should be assessed by a healthcare professional and diagnosis requires both symptoms and properly taken blood tests.

Sources

• European Association of Urology: Guidelines on Male Hypogonadism.

• NHS: The “male menopause”.

• American Urological Association: Testosterone Deficiency Guideline.

• Liu VN et al., 2025: study on British men's awareness of symptoms of testosterone deficiency.