For as long as humans have worn clothing, the debate about whether it's better for males to wear boxers or briefs has been raging. Well, maybe not quite for that long, but it's certainly been a topic of conversation and deliberation for a while. But now it seems that there's actual scientific proof that boxers are better.
When we say better, we're only talking about which type of undergarment is more beneficial when it comes to your testicles producing healthy sperm, by the way. And it seems that the long-held belief that boxers are better for that is....wait for it...true.
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A new study asked the following question: Is self-reported type of underwear worn associated with markers of testicular function among men at a fertility center?
The answer? According to the study, 'who reported most frequently wearing boxers had higher sperm concentration and total count, and lower FSH levels, compared to men who did not.'
According to Dr Lidia Minguez-Alarcon, the first author on the study, this particular study was able to finally answer that question definitively. said in a statement:
"An important strength of this study is that we were able to investigate the potential relationship between the type of underwear worn and indicators of testicular function such as reproductive hormone levels and DNA damage, which were missing in all previous studies on the topic," she explained.
"Because of this, we were able to find a potential compensatory mechanism whereby decreased sperm production relating to the type of underwear signals to the hypothalamus to increase secretion of gonadotropin[s], [hormones that act] on the testes and that is reflected by the increased levels of FSH, to try to increase sperm production."
For the study, experts analysed 1,186 sperm samples from 656 different men who were seeking fertility treatment at the Massachusetts General Hospital between the years 2000 and 2017. Fun work if you can get it.
They found that men who wore boxers - 53 percent of the study group - had a higher sperm concentration of 25 per cent, a higher sperm count of 25 per cent and lower FSH levels of 14 per cent compared to those who wore tighter items of underwear.
Other factors that could impact the results - such as age, BMI, smoking history and the reported time between the sample and the last ejaculation - were adjusted accordingly for the study, but as 67 percent of participants only provided one sample, combined with the fact that circadian variation can change hormone production so that might have affected to results to some extent.
Still - boxers for the win.
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