Sugar-sweetened beverage in relation to semen quality and reproductive hormone levels in young men.

Higher intake of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) is associated with low progressive sperm motility in skinny men.

This study investigated the relationship between the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) and semen quality and reproductive hormone levels. Using validated dietary questionnaires, researchers examined the SSB intake of 189 young men between the ages of 18-22 recruited from the Rochester Young Men’s Study. Relevant reproductive hormones and semen quality parameters, such as sperm motility, concentration, and morphology were measured in all the subjects.

Researchers observed a decrease in sperm motility in skinny subjects, but not in overweight and obsess male subjects, who regularly drank large amounts of SSB. Conversely, high intake of SSB had little or no effect on reproductive hormone levels and other semen parameters. Skinny men who consumed the greatest amounts of SSB were found to have 9.8 percentage unit lower progressive sperm motility than those who seldomly or did not drink SSB. The results of this study show that high intake of SSB may decrease sperm motility and semen quality in lean men.