Fears over fertility crisis

A MAJOR French study has revealed that male sperm counts have fallen sharply since the start of the 1990s.

Whilst the decline is being linked to diet, lifestyle and even tight underwear, a British expert said action was needed to investigate the causes.

Professor Richard Sharpe, of the University of Edinburgh, said: “In the UK this issue has never been viewed as any sort of health priority. Doing nothing will ensure that couple fertility and average family size will decline below its present low level and place ever greater strains on society.”

The researchers used data from 126 fertility treatment centres. They found that from 1989 to 2005, there was a 32.2 per cent decrease in concentration of sperm, a rate of nearly 2 per cent a year.