Many believe that testosterone in some way affects the loss of fat in the male body.
Yes, this hormone is responsible for some typical male characteristics and also contributes to muscle growth in both men and women.
In most cases, the male body contains a fairly large amount of testosterone. However, some suffer from a deficiency. This is a problem that probably predisposes men to rapid and intensive weight gain due to the increase in body fat.
In this article, you will find all the information you need about the effects of testosterone levels on obesity and weight loss. Let’s get started.
How Does Testosterone Work in the Human Body?
Testosterone is the main male sex hormone. Testes in men and ovaries in women are responsible for its synthesis.
In the general sense, the term “hormone” means a messenger molecule. A set of such molecules plays an important role in various body systems.
Hormones, along with blood flow, move throughout the body and thus they enter the target cells. When hormones come in contact with the necessary cells, they bind to receptors located on the surface of them and affect their work.
The main role of the hormone testosterone is to improve male qualities, such as:
- Increase muscle mass
- Bone strengthening
- Formation of a deeper voice
- Intensive hair growth on the face and body
Keeping normal testosterone levels in the male body is also important for sperm maturation and maintaining male fertility.
Of course, testosterone levels in men are much higher than in women. However, for women’s health, this hormone plays an equally important role.
One of its most important functions, regardless of gender, is to maintain muscle mass and stimulate bone growth and strength. Its level decreases with age, which partially explains the age-related loss of muscle and bone mass.
Testosterone deficiency not only inhibits muscle growth and maintenance but can also contribute to weight gain.
Deficiency of Male Sex Hormone Leads to an Increase in Body Fat
Let’s see how testosterone promotes muscle growth and, at the same time, inhibits the increase in fat. You must have repeatedly noticed that some men tend to gain fat more easily than their healthy peers.
The thing is that muscles burn much more calories than adipose tissue. Thus, muscle deficiency increases the risk of accumulating excess calories in the form of fat, especially with too much food intake.
Researchers in the field of a healthy lifestyle have found that it is a decrease in muscle mass that is the main cause of testosterone deficiency and, as a consequence, weight gain in men. That is, obesity itself can also suppress blood testosterone levels.
Obesity is Directly Linked to Low Testosterone
In obese men, testosterone levels are 25-30% lower compared to people with normal weight. More than 68% of men with morbidly obese suffer from testosterone deficiency or, as it is also called, male hypogonadism.
This disorder is characterized by an abnormally low level of this hormone. Male hypogonadism can change with weight changes.
To date, scientists have not been precisely established why testosterone levels are lower in obese men, but most studies manifest several processes related to this indicator.
Firstly, the human abdominal cavity contains a large amount of aromatase enzyme. This substance converts testosterone into a female sex hormone or estrogen. Based on this, men with obesity have higher estrogen levels than men with normal weight.
Secondly, the high activity of aromatase in combination with the estrogen reduces the production of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GRH).
A low level of GRH causes a decrease in the level of luteinizing hormone, and this, in turn, provokes a decrease in testosterone synthesis. Thus, excess fat around the abdomen suppresses the level of testosterone in the body.
Do Special Supplements Cause Weight Loss?
Testosterone supplementation is an artificial increase in the level of the hormone in the blood. Such a supplementation can be of 3 types:
- Testosterone replacement therapy
- Testosterone boosters
- Prohibited Anabolic Steroids
Prohibited Anabolic Steroids
This type is a synthetic steroid associated with testosterone. Sometimes athletes, especially practitioners in bodybuilding, abuse anabolic steroids.
This is done to increase testosterone levels to normal levels and accelerate muscle growth. The abuse of supplements based on anabolic steroids is illegal in many countries, including the United States.
Without any medical advice, absolutely healthy men with normal testosterone levels should not take any form of anabolic steroids. Prolonged and excessive use of such supplements can cause negative side effects.
These include sexual dysfunction, liver problems, heart disease, and even problems with the nervous system, which manifest themselves as aggressive behavior.
However, not all of these side effects relate to testosterone itself. The negative consequence is caused more likely by its synthetic derivatives. In addition, testosterone plays an important role in the treatment of certain diseases.
As an example, an absolutely legitimate procedure can be used to normalize testosterone levels in men with deficiency. Such treatment is known as testosterone replacement therapy.
If current testosterone replacement therapy can contribute to weight loss in obese men, then abuse of anabolic steroids is not the recommended weight loss technique.
Besides, excess muscle mass is very difficult to keep for a long time, and muscles that are not involved for a long period of time in physical exercises tend to turn into fat.
Why Testosterone Replacement Therapy is Useful?
This hormone is often lawfully prescribed for the treatment of testosterone deficiency – hypogonadism – and even some other diseases.
Such treatment is known as testosterone replacement therapy. The whole process is carried out under the strict supervision of an 
endocrinologist. It can be entered in a different form:
- Special additives
- Injection
- Skin patch
- Creams
There are suggestions, supported by facts, that replacement therapy can lead to weight loss in obese patients who also have testosterone deficiency.
A study conducted over 1 year on 110 obese men on a low-calorie diet showed that injections improved weight loss by 6.3 pounds compared to those who did not receive any therapy.
After both groups of men lost weight – muscle, and fat at the same time – when put on a diet designed to be low on calories, testosterone caused significant muscle recovery during the succeeding weight maintenance period.
Testosterone causes weight loss due to muscle growth, which increases the number of calories burned.
Such a procedure is also useful in that it can reduce apathy and fatigue, increase physical activity, and motivation. All these factors also play an important role in weight loss.
However, it is worth considering that in these studies the effect of replacement therapy in men with testosterone deficiency was studied. No evidence as yet suggests that testosterone replacement therapy causes weight reduction in healthy men with initially regular testosterone levels.
In Summary
Normal blood testosterone levels are a sign of a man’s good health.
Testosterone helps maintain lean muscle mass: it increases the number of calories burned and can motivate you to stay physically active. All this is associated with a lower risk of rapid weight gain and, as a consequence, obesity.
If you suspect that you may have a deficiency of this hormone in the body, contact your endocrinologist for a blood test. A specialist can prescribe testosterone replacement therapy, which is the most effective method of normalizing its level and restoring health.
You can also try to raise your level naturally. To do this, you need to reduce the amount of abdominal fat. Strength training alternating with proper relaxation, as well as the use of testosterone boosters such as ashwagandha will help you with this.
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