Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is worried about testosterone levels in American teens.
The health secretary expressed concern about declining testosterone levels among teenagers as he spoke to Fox News on Tuesday night about a newly announced initiative to phase out eight artificial food dyes.
“The food our kids are eating today is not really food,” Kennedy said on Jesse Watters Primetime, listing a litany of health issues faced by Americans including chronic disease and obesity.
“Seventy-four percent of our kids cannot qualify for military service,” he said. “We have fertility rates that are just spiraling. A teenager today—an American teenager—has less testosterone than a 68-year-old man. Sperm counts are down 50 percent.”
Concerns over male fertility rose sharply in 2022 when a study found that sperm count dropped by 51.6 percent worldwide between 1973 and 2018. Studies on whether artificial dyes affect semen production, including on mice have shown some reaction, though results are not conclusive.
“Testosterone levels have dropped 50 percent from historic levels,” Kennedy said. “That is a problem, and it’s an existential problem.”
The health secretary went on to argue that obesity is not as prevalent in countries like Japan “because they pay attention to what they’re feeding kids in school.”
Earlier on Tuesday, the Health Department and Food and Drug Administration announced a plan to gradually phase out eight artificial food dyes and colorings in the U.S. by the end of 2026.
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said the government was looking to revoke authorization for two synthetic food colorings and seek the food industry’s help in eliminating six other dyes used in snacks like cereal, ice cream, and yogurt.
But Kennedy said the plan was contingent on the cooperation of major food companies, none of whom sent representatives to the Tuesday news conference.
“We don’t have an agreement; we have an understanding,” Kennedy said of the food industry. “Four years from now, we’re going to have most of these products off the market, or you will know about them when you go to the grocery store.”
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