The Trump administration is calling its concerns about male service members’ testosterone levels a matter of maintaining military might, despite critics who say it’s an unscientific catchall driven by the culture war and its anxieties about masculinity.
In an interview published by Fox News Digital on Saturday, senior Health and Human Services official Adm. Brian Christine said the U.S. military’s new testosterone screening guidelines and plans to provide hormone replacement therapy are essential to having an effective fighting force.
According to Christine, there are “absolutely national defense readiness ramifications” associated with declines in the testosterone levels in the U.S., considering figures that show 77% of American men ages 17 to 24 do not qualify for service without a waiver, due to issues like obesity, chronic disease and other medical problems.
Compounding that with the fact that only about 3% of young Americans express interest in military service, Christine called Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s new testosterone testing guidance for male service members over age 30 “incredibly important” and “incredibly timely.”
The secretary announced controversial new guidelines for testosterone testing and treatment in June, claiming testosterone is key to maintaining the “lethality” of male service members.
“It’s about restoring and optimizing your natural capabilities, protecting your longevity, and ensuring you have the biological foundation required to sustain the fight,” he said at the time.
Hegseth has also placed a heightened emphasis on rigorous physical fitness, grooming and social standards among his military ranks.
“No fatties, no trannies, no beardos, no weirdos,” he proclaimed during his “State of the Force” speech last month. “The patriotic cowboys are in, with testosterone testing on top.”
However, medical organizations like the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology have warned that screening asymptomatic men for testosterone deficiency is highly susceptible to confirmation bias, especially as the MAGA and MAHA-adjacent male wellness milieu credits “low T” as the culprit behind everything from depression to poor libido, fatigue, thinning hair, increased body fat, waning muscle mass and more.
While testosterone replacement therapy can improve energy levels and certain physical symptoms, especially in men with naturally declining testosterone levels due to age, hormone supplements can also negatively impact sperm counts, sleep quality, testicle size and hair density in addition to causing enlarged breast tissue and increasing the risk of blood clots.