The Surprising Science of Walking and Testosterone
There’s a quiet health enhancement for men’s testosterone levels hiding in plain sight—and it doesn’t involve supplements, ice baths, or extreme diets. It’s walking.
Speaking as a 65-year-old athletic man with healthy testosterone levels, it appears my regular walking habit may be serving me well. I was intrigued by a recent YouTube Think Science video (below). The presentation connects several major studies to make a bold but refreshingly simple claim: your daily step count may be one of the strongest predictors of your testosterone levels.
Watch the video here:
Below we can unpack the science in plain English.
1. The “7 ng/dL per 1,000 Steps” Rule
A large U.S. population study by Liao and colleagues (2021), published in NHANES data analysis, found something surprisingly precise:
For every additional 1,000 steps per day, total testosterone rose by about 7 ng/dL on average.
Even more striking? Men walking more than 8,000 steps daily had nearly a 90% lower risk of low testosterone compared to men walking fewer than 4,000.
That’s not a tiny tweak. That’s a lifestyle-level shift.
The video highlights this as a kind of “testosterone math equation.” It reframes steps as a measurable hormonal lever rather than just general “cardio.”
What this means:
If someone increases from 3,000 to 9,000 steps per day, that’s roughly a potential 42 ng/dL average bump. Not trivial—especially for men hovering near the lower range.
2. The Two-Week “Metabolic Crash”
The problem isn’t just low movement—it’s sudden inactivity.
A study by Olsen et al. (2008) in the Journal of Physiology forced healthy young men to reduce their daily steps to about 1,500 per day for two weeks.
The result? A rapid internal shift:
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Insulin sensitivity dropped sharply
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Visceral (belly) fat began accumulating
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Metabolic health deteriorated fast
The video describes this as a “metabolic disaster.” And here’s the key: this internal environment—high insulin, rising visceral fat—is exactly the kind that suppresses testosterone production.
Your body reads inactivity as a stress signal. Hormones respond accordingly.
It’s not dramatic aging. It’s simply less movement.
3. Walking vs. Dieting: Which Raises Testosterone More?
Here’s where it gets interesting.
A 12-week study by Kumagai et al. (2016) compared two strategies in overweight men:
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Reducing calorie intake
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Increasing physical activity
The winner?
Movement. Again, my own anecdotal experience of regular walks – be it on the treadmill in the gym or in the great outdoors meant I have never needed to count calories – only count steps.
Increasing step count had a stronger effect on raising testosterone than cutting calories alone.
The video frames this as a powerful shift in perspective: the body responds more strongly to “I’m active and capable” than to “I’m restricting food.”
In hormonal terms, movement sends an anabolic (building) signal. Deprivation sends a conservation signal. If testosterone is the goal, walking may be more powerful than dieting harder.
4. The “Sugar Sponge” Effect: Why Post-Meal Walks Matter
The fourth study, by DiPietro et al. (2013), examined short walks after meals—three 15-minute walks versus one longer session.
The finding: short post-meal walks were superior for controlling blood sugar spikes.
The video explains this using a memorable metaphor: your muscles act like a “sugar sponge.”
When you walk after eating:
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Muscles pull glucose from the bloodstream
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Blood sugar spikes are blunted
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Insulin surges are reduced
Why does that matter for testosterone?
Chronically high insulin signals the body to dial down testosterone production. So preventing large glucose spikes may indirectly protect hormonal output.
This isn’t about burning calories. It’s about managing metabolic signals.
The Bigger Pattern
Taken together, these studies paint a coherent picture:
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Low steps → insulin resistance → visceral fat → lower testosterone
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Higher steps → improved metabolic health → stronger hormonal profile
And perhaps most compelling: even small increases matter.
This isn’t a “train like an athlete” prescription. The threshold in the Liao study showed dramatic risk reduction above 8,000 steps—something achievable for most people with deliberate daily movement.
The YouTube video emphasizes this accessibility: you don’t need special equipment, elite fitness, or extreme discipline. You need consistency.
So, How Many Steps Should You Aim For?
Based on the research:
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Under 4,000 steps/day → higher risk zone
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Around 8,000+ steps/day → substantially lower risk
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Post-meal walking → bonus metabolic advantage
If someone is currently sedentary, even increasing by 2,000–3,000 steps may produce measurable change.
Final Thoughts
Testosterone discussions often revolve around supplements, hormone therapy, or intense strength training. But this body of research suggests something simpler:
Your daily movement patterns may quietly determine your hormonal baseline.
Walking is not flashy. It doesn’t trend on social media. But physiologically, it appears to send one of the clearest “we are thriving” signals your body can receive.
And that signal seems to matter.
About the author: John O’Sullivan is CEO and co-founder (with Dr Tim Ball among 45 scientists) of Principia Scientific International (PSI). He is a seasoned science writer, retired teacher and legal analyst who assisted skeptic climatologist Dr Ball in defeating UN climate expert, Michael ‘hockey stick’ Mann in the multi-million-dollar ‘science trial of the century‘. From 2010 O’Sullivan led the original ‘Slayers’ group of scientists who compiled the book ‘Slaying the Sky Dragon: Death of the Greenhouse Gas Theory’ debunking alarmist lies about carbon dioxide plus their follow-up climate book. His most recent publication, ‘Slaying the Virus and Vaccine Dragon’ broadens PSI’s critiques of mainstream medical group think and junk science.