Thai
Elite Member
In Men's Fertility, Fit Matters
By Joe Elia
Edited by Susan Sadoughi, MD
When attempting to jump into the gene pool, one's preference in underwear matters, according to a small study in Human Reproduction.
Researchers asked some 650 men attending an infertility clinic what kind of underwear they customarily wore. They were asked to choose among boxers, jockeys, bikinis, briefs, or "other" (a category that included boxer-briefs or mixtures of underwear types). Semen and blood samples were also collected.
The men were divided into those primarily wearing looser-fitting boxers and those mainly wearing tighter-fit underwear. The outcomes, in brief: a preference for boxers was associated with higher sperm counts and concentrations, and higher numbers of motile sperm. It was also associated with lower serum levels of follicle-stimulating hormone.
The authors say their findings coincide with the idea that tight underwear elevates scrotal temperatures, thus leading to testicular injury.
By Joe Elia
Edited by Susan Sadoughi, MD
When attempting to jump into the gene pool, one's preference in underwear matters, according to a small study in Human Reproduction.
Researchers asked some 650 men attending an infertility clinic what kind of underwear they customarily wore. They were asked to choose among boxers, jockeys, bikinis, briefs, or "other" (a category that included boxer-briefs or mixtures of underwear types). Semen and blood samples were also collected.
The men were divided into those primarily wearing looser-fitting boxers and those mainly wearing tighter-fit underwear. The outcomes, in brief: a preference for boxers was associated with higher sperm counts and concentrations, and higher numbers of motile sperm. It was also associated with lower serum levels of follicle-stimulating hormone.
The authors say their findings coincide with the idea that tight underwear elevates scrotal temperatures, thus leading to testicular injury.
