In brief
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced a new program that will mandate testosterone testing for active‑duty and reserve soldiers aged 30 and older during their periodic health assessment. Those who screen low will be offered voluntary hormone replacement therapy to improve strength, resilience, and long‑term health. The initiative follows FDA moves to ease prescribing limits for testosterone and aims to treat a condition that affects roughly 13 million American men. Critics question the policy’s impact on women and worry about potential side‑effects of hormone therapy.
The Department of Defense is rolling out a new program that will require all active‑duty and reserve personnel aged 30 and older to undergo a testosterone‑deficiency test during their annual physical. The move follows a push from the administration to make testosterone replacement therapy more widely available.
In a short video posted to X, Hegseth said the program ensures “you have the right testosterone levels to operate at your absolute best.” Men who screen low will be offered voluntary hormone replacement therapy and will receive follow‑up care if needed. Women are not included in the screening, and the Pentagon has yet to specify whether hormone testing will be offered to female soldiers, many of whom enter perimenopause in their 30s.
"We owe our warriors the absolute best medical care in the world, and this programme delivers on that obligation," Hegseth told his followers. He emphasized that taking testosterone for non‑medical reasons, such as hidden muscle‑enhancement, is strictly prohibited in the military and that the new policy is “not about artificial enhancement”.
The program, announced on 15 July, will become compulsory for all men 30 and older, while men under 30 will be able to request voluntary testing. Secretary of Defense’s spokesman Sean Parnell described the initiative as a way to “establish a comprehensive baseline and offer targeted testosterone therapy, ensuring that it sustains a healthy, capable, & decisively dominant fighting force.”
Female soldiers, for instance, faced questions around whether they could be tested for estrogen‑based therapy as they enter perimenopause. In response, the Pentagon said it had no comment on the matter. The policy has attracted mixed reactions; Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth urged the inclusion of women, while Representative Chrissy Houlahan dismissed the effort as a “culture‑war obsession”.
Low testosterone is thought to affect between 10 % and 40 % of men over 30 globally, which translates to about 13 million men in the United States. The hormone plays a critical role in muscle mass, energy, mood, sex drive and bone density. A simple blood test screens levels, and if low, replacement therapy can restore muscle mass, reduce fat accumulation, lessen depression risk and improve bone health. But, experts warn, unnecessary use of testosterone can render men infertile and potentially increase cardiovascular risk.
Dr. Mohit Khera, who led an FDA expert panel on military testosterone use last year, urged that men over 30 should be routinely screened because a low level is one of the best indicators of overall physical readiness. “Many young men have low testosterone levels, and that puts them at a disadvantage in terms of muscle mass, energy, and could be an issue if you are in combat,” he told BBC.
Khera also warned that hormone therapy should be used only when symptoms are present. “If young men do take testosterone, it can make them infertile,” he noted, “You have to be careful to ensure people in reproductive years understand the consequences.” He added that therapy can raise theoretical cardiovascular risk.
The rollout follows a broader push in Washington to reduce barriers to testosterone prescription. The FDA last month requested removal of safety and efficacy language from product labels and proposed loosening prescribing limits. Meanwhile, the U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has moved to remove hurdles that restrict medical professionals from prescribing testosterone to men.
Additional reporting by Michelle Roberts
