Doctors Push Back as Hegseth Orders Testosterone Screening for Troops Over 30
Specialists warn the Pentagon's plan lacks scientific grounding and risks over diagnosis, infertility, and needless treatment of healthy service members
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has announced plans to introduce routine testosterone screening for military personnel over the age of 30 — a move that has drawn criticism from health specialists who warn it could lead to unnecessary diagnoses and potentially harmful treatment, The Hill reported.
The testing would be folded into the military’s periodic health assessments, with troops found to have low hormone levels potentially offered testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). Hegseth has framed the measure as a way to improve health, physical performance, and combat readiness.
“This initiative, it’s not about artificial enhancement; it’s about restoring and optimizing your natural capabilities,” he said, calling it part of an obligation to give service members “the absolute best medical care in the world.” In a video announcing the policy, he said the programme would ensure troops had “the right testosterone levels to operate at [their] absolute best,” citing the natural decline of testosterone with age.
‘I don’t fully understand’
Medical specialists counter that routinely testing healthy, active personnel without symptoms is not supported by established clinical guidance. Derek Griffith, director of the programme for research on men’s health at the University of Pennsylvania, noted that low testosterone affects only around 2 percent of the male population — a figure that hardly suggests a major problem among military personnel, who are generally younger and fitter than the wider public.
“I don’t fully understand,” Griffith said of the decision. “I don’t know what they’re seeing or what data they’re using.” He also questioned the choice of 30 as a starting age, saying it is “not what’s usually a major issue for healthy men.”
Testosterone levels vary widely between individuals and fluctuate through the day, typically peaking in the morning, with a normal range generally considered to run from 300 to 1,000 nanograms per decilitre — making isolated readings hard to interpret without symptoms. The Endocrine Society advises against routinely testing men who show no signs of deficiency. Joel Heidelbaugh, a clinical professor of urology at the University of Michigan, called the Pentagon’s approach “probably a little bit aggressive.” Critics warn it could see healthy troops classified as medically deficient and steered toward treatment they do not need.
Fertility and health risks
One of the best-established consequences of testosterone therapy is reduced sperm production — a fertility risk that Griffith said should be taken seriously for personnel in their 30s who may want children.
Adriane Fugh-Berman, a professor of pharmacology and physiology at Georgetown University, warned of a wider range of harms. “Testosterone even in low doses increases heart problems, kidney problems, infertility and fractures, which hardly seems like a good way to keep soldiers in fighting form,” she said, adding that there is no evidence the hormone increases longevity. “It’s ridiculous to screen a population for a questionable condition which has a treatment with unproven benefits and proven risk.”
While low testosterone can be linked to conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and depression, specialists argue the Pentagon would do better to focus on broader drivers of illness and early death among men — cancer, hypertension, alcohol misuse, and mental health disorders.
A wider fixation on masculinity
The initiative arrives as traditional masculinity and physical strength have become prominent themes within Donald Trump’s administration. Hegseth, a former National Guard officer and television presenter, has repeatedly posted videos of himself exercising with troops, and has introduced stricter fitness rules built around what he calls a “male standard.” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has likewise promoted testosterone therapy as part of a personal “anti-ageing protocol,” describing falling testosterone levels worldwide as an “existential” threat.
Researchers say the focus mirrors a broader online culture in which ordinary experiences — fatigue, stress, shifts in libido — are increasingly presented to young men as signs of hormone deficiency. Brooke Nickel, a public-health researcher at the University of Sydney, said the policy “appears to be happening in tandem with mis- and disinformation about masculinity circulating on social media,” with young, healthy men told that common experiences are medical problems for which testosterone is the cure. There is, she said, “little science to back the Pentagon’s decision.”
The announcement has also drawn political criticism, with some Democratic lawmakers accusing officials of promoting an exaggerated and contradictory image of manhood. It remains unclear whether troops who fail the newly introduced fitness tests and are then found to have low testosterone would be allowed to undergo treatment before being retested.
References: Al-Mayadeen