Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is rolling out a new military health initiative that will require annual testosterone deficiency screenings for active-duty service members ages 30 and older.
The screenings will become part of the military’s mandatory yearly health assessments, with Hegseth saying the goal is to help troops perform at their highest level.
In a video posted on X with the caption “High-T Department,” Hegseth said he was authorizing the program to make sure service members “have the right testosterone levels to operate at your absolute best.”
Although the initiative is intended to improve physical performance, some medical experts say routine hormone testing may not be necessary.
Dr. Nadia Ahmad, Founder and Medical Director of The Weight Care Clinic, said: “There is a scientific rationale for measuring testosterone, but only in the right clinical context,” she said, according to VT.
“Testosterone testing is useful when someone has symptoms suggestive of testosterone deficiency, such as reduced libido, erectile dysfunction, unexplained fatigue, loss of muscle mass or infertility.”
“There is currently limited evidence”
According to Dr. Ahmad, diagnosing low testosterone is rarely straightforward in people who are not experiencing symptoms, making routine screening of healthy individuals both controversial and unnecessary.
She also warned that the standard blood test used to measure testosterone has major limitations, particularly in a military setting.
“A diagnosis of low testosterone should never be based on a single blood test alone.
“Levels naturally fluctuate throughout the day and can be temporarily lowered by poor sleep, illness, stress, intensive physical training, inadequate nutrition and certain medications.”
Those short-term changes are especially common among military personnel, Dr. Ahmad noted, meaning annual testing could result in false positives rather than correctly identifying people with a true hormone deficiency.
Although Hegseth has said the program is designed to “optimize… performance, resilience, and long-term health,” Dr. Ahmad said current research does not support routine annual screening for every service member.
“From a military perspective, the reasoning is understandable. Testosterone plays an important role in maintaining muscle mass, bone health, recovery and overall physical function.
“However, there is currently limited evidence that annual screening of all service members improves military readiness or long-term health outcomes.”
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