Testosterone across race: which race has the highest testosterone?

Testosterone across race, who has the highest? Is it blacks?

It’s commonly believed that black people have the highest testosterone of all races, but what I’m about to show you might surprise you. Read to the end to learn what really influences testosterone.

Testosterone across race

First I’m going to address testosterone across races in the same country, then across different countries.

This is because if they live in the same country, there are fewer variables, such as food, etc. When they live in their own countries, they are more likely to eat the native diet (or at least more native foods), which can alter testosterone levels.

In the US

This 2009 study found across 44 random locations in the US, black men average 39 ng/dl higher testosterone than white and Mexican-American men (R).

Among 134 adolescents (average age of 17) non-Hispanic blacks did not have a higher testosterone concentration than non-Hispanic whites, and Mexican-Americans had the highest testosterone concentration, patterns similar to adult males (R).

• Whites: 472ng/dl
• Blacks: 586ng/dl
• Mexicans: 602ng/dl

This 2002 study found that in males over 24, blacks only had 21ng/dl (3%) higher total testosterone than whites (R).

A 2006 study analyzed the BACH sample collected in Boston (data collected from 2002 through June 2005), which included 2301 men (28% blacks, 34% Hispanics and 38% whites) (R). All groups had more or less the same testosterone level.

• Black: 454ng/dl
• Hispanic: 441ng/dl
• White: 434ng/dl

The problem with these studies is that one might find a 100ng/dl difference, and the other will find no difference. Many factors come into play, such as BMI, activity level, income, diet, etc, etc. So it’s really difficult to find a trend.

Let’s zoom out and look at this from a global scale.

Testosterone across country (and race)

Spain (in Alicante)

121 young men aged 24±3.6 years with BMI 24±2.5 kg/m(2) were enrolled and the average testosterone levels were 19±5.5 (13.5-24.5) nmol/L (548ng/dl (389-706ng/dl)).

Malaysia

Malaysian men younger than 40 were recruited and they had an average testosterone level of 15.1 ± 5.9 nmol/L (435.5ng/dl (265-606ng/dl)) (R). These men had an average waist circumference of 96.1 ± 10.9 cm (37.8 inches). I’ll explain why this is important later on.

China

A 2005 study investigated the testosterone levels of 315 Singapore Chinese men and found that the average testosterone is about 17nmol/L (490ng/dl) (R).

2014 study in Hong Kong found that the average testosterone of 299 young men aged 18-24 years had an average total testosterone of 20.2nmol/L (582.6ng/dl). Their free and bioavailable testosterone was 0.47 nmol/l and 12.39 nmol/l, respectively (R).

A Chinese study in 2022 found that men younger than 40 had an average testosterone level of 17.0 ± 5.9 nmol/L (490ng/dl (320-661ng/dl) (R). These men had an average waist circumference of 92.6 ± 9.6 cm (36.5 inches).

India

Indian men younger than 40 were recruited and they had an average testosterone level of (16.1 ± 6.5 nmol/L) (464.4ng/dl (271-652ng/dl)) (R). These men had an average waist circumference of 95.6 ± 9.9 cm (37.6 inches).

South Africa

Healthy white men aged 20-49 had a testosterone of 14.6 ± 4.9 nmol/L (421ng/dl), whereas healthy black fathers aged 30 – 39 years had an average testosterone of 16.9 ± 4.7 nmol/l (487.4ng/dl). These numbers dropped to 11.4 ± 5.1 nmol/l (328.9ng/dl) in “healthy” men aged 40 – 49 (R).

These data suggest that healthy men in South Africa have lower total testosterone values than men in international studies, especially in Western countries. Jikes, perhaps I need to consider moving. 😀

Testosterone levels vary a lot based on where people are living in South Africa with the highest levels in the urban affluent area (600ng/dl) and lowest in the squatter camps (430ng/dl) (R). In this case, poverty influences testosterone a lot.

Uganda

Testosterone among men in Uganda are (R):

• 24.0 nmol/L (692ng/dl) between 18-27 years
• 23.4 nmol/L (675ng/dl) between 28–37 years
• 20.8 nmol/L (600ng/dl) between 38–47 years
• 21.6 nmol/L (623ng/dl) over 48 years

US testosterone across race

365 young US men (race not specified) between the ages of 18-29 years had an average total testosterone of 21.64nmol/L. Free and bioavailable testosterone were 0.47 nmol/l and 11.90 nmol/l (R).

African Americans

440 African American men in California had an average testosterone of 15.1nmol/L (436ng/dl) (R).

US whites

355 white men in California had an average testosterone of 16.4nmol/L (473ng/dl) (R).

Japanese Americans

349 Japanese men in California had an average testosterone of 16.3nmol/L (470ng/dl) (R).

US Latinos

523 Latino men in California had an average testosterone of 15.6nmol/L (449ng/dl) (R).

US summary

Russia

This 2021 study population consisted of 1291 young men from Novosibirsk, Kemerovo, Ulan‐Ude, and Yakutsk, including 1013 men of the three most numerous ethnic groups: Slavs, Buryats, and Yakuts (R).

Among the different zones, Ulan-Ude had the “lowest” at 19nmol/L (548ng/dl) and Novosibirsk had the highest at 23nmol/L (663ng/dl).

UK testosterone across race

Pakistani men

50 Pakistani men in Manchester aged 25–74 years had an average total testosterone concentration of 14.6 nmol/l (12.6-16.6 nmol/l) (R). These men had a waist-hip ratio of 0.96, SHBG of 22.9nmol/L and free testosterone of 367pmol/L. They were also 4 cm shorter than the other groups listed below (Europeans and African Caribbeans).

African Caribbean

75 African-Caribbean men in Manchester aged 25–74 years had an average total testosterone concentration of 18.0 nmol/L (16.4-19.6) (R). These men had a waist-hip ratio of 0.9, SHBG of 26.9nmol/L and free testosterone of 458pmol/l.

European

55 European men in Manchester aged 25–74 years had an average total testosterone concentration of 18.7 nmol/L (16.8-20.6) (R). These men had a waist-hip ratio of 0.92, SHBG of 28.7nmol/L and free testosterone of 455pmol/l.

Indian

79 Indian men living in Birmingham had a testosterone level of 17.2 nmol/L (15.7-18.7) (R). They had a wait hip ratio of 0.92.

UK summary

The Pakistani men had the lowest total and free T, and this is because they had the greatest midsection fat and the biggest waist to hip ratio.

Israel’s testosterone across race

Palestinian men

162 Palestinian men between 25-44-year-old living in East Jerusalem had an average testosterone of 16.7nmol/L (481ng/dl) (R).

Israeli men

124 Israeli men between 25-44-year-old living in West Jerusalem had an average testosterone of 17.6nmol/L (509ng/dl) (R).

Age, BMI, and physical activity had a stronger association with testosterone in Israelis with significant interactions with ethnicity. BMI <25 and higher physical activity were associated with higher testosterone.

Denmark

Between 2007 and 2010, men from Denmark and the Faroe Islands had an average testosterone of 20 and 22nmol/L respectively (R). However, SHBG was much higher in the Faroe men and free testosterone was higher in the Danish men.

Testosterone across race summary

Let’s look at the all put together.

What really influences testosterone across race?

Obesity

One of the biggest negative correlators to testosterone is excess body weight in the form of fat. In almost all studies, higher BMI and a bigger waist-to-hip ratio are associated with low testosterone. People with the highest waist-to-hip ratio had the lowest testosterone.

Globally, the prevalence of obesity has nearly tripled since 1975 and it’s predicted that one in five adults will be obese by 2025 (R).

Obese individuals (with a BMI >30 kg/m²) have an 8.7-fold increased risk of secondary hypogonadism, while about 75% of subjects with severe obesity (BMI > 40 kg/m²) have hypogonadism (R).

Men with a BMI of 35–40 kg/m² can have up to 50% less free and total testosterone when compared to age-matched peers with a normal BMI (R).

A few mechanisms of how obesity contributes to low testosterone include:

• Elevated inflammation.
• Insulin resistance.
• Leptin resistance.
• A drop in SHBG.
• Elevated testicular temperature.
• Sleep apnea.
• Elevated aromatase.
• Gut dysbiosis and an increase in endotoxin production and leaky gut.
• Accumulation of fat-soluble endocrine-disrupting chemicals (R).
• Abnormally increased expression and activity of enzyme 11b-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11b-HSD-1) in adipose tissue which activates cortisol. This leads to a high cortisol-to-testosterone ratio.

Low testosterone in turn promotes weight gain.

One of the best things you can do for your T right from this moment is to start losing fat. Even a very aggressive diet of 800 calories per day can increase T from 250 to 500ng/dl after 12 weeks. Or more simply put, for every 10% of body fat that you lose, you’ll gain 100ng/dl of testosterone.

Diabetes

Men with diabetes have lower levels of testosterone than men without (R). (as you can see in the graph on the right)

In addition, diabetics tend to have elevated estradiol levels despite lower testosterone levels (R).

Environment (danger/safe)

One of the studies pointed out that certain black males might have slightly higher testosterone than white males (39 ng/dl difference).

The study explains that these differences might be partly due to low marriage rate, less fat mass and a hormonal reaction to ambient social challenges faced in poor urban neighborhoods (dangerous environment).

However, even at the same BMI, after correcting for the waist-to-hip ratio, both whites and blacks had the same T. No difference.

A more dangerous environment might lead to higher T, but ultimately, waist to hip ratio matters the most. Don’t get fat!!

Married (wild vs. settled)

Many studies have found that married men have lower testosterone than single men. But it’s not that settling down lowers testosterone, but rather what people do when they settle down. They typically work a boring job (or a stressful one), eat too much, don’t sleep enough and don’t move enough.

Most people start to gain weight and become unhealthy after marriage. Do you know a couple (or many couples) that just started gaining weight after they married? Yes, a lot!

If someone is single, they’re more likely to stay in shape to attract the opposite sex. That quickly changes after marriage. Plus getting a baby on top of that is a whole different ball game. Unless you’re rich and outsource raising the kid lol.

Migration

Here are 2 studies to illustrate my point. They compared Chinese men living in Beijing vs Pennsylvania. The men in Pennsylvania had higher T than those in Beijing (700 vs 500ng/dl). However, their free testosterone was the same.

This indicates that dietary or other environmental factors appeared to alter serum levels and production rates of testosterone in Chinese men living in China (R).

Another example is Indian men who migrated to India. Circulating testosterone was significantly lower in UK Gujarati men (17.2 nmol/l) vs. Indian Gujarati men (21.7 nmol/l). However, again, there was no difference in circulating free testosterone, because SHBG levels were lower in UK migrants 16.8 nmol/l than in nonmigrants 21.9 nmol/l (R).

This is because UK-based Indians had a waist-to-hip ratio and BMI of 0.92 and 26 respectively, compared to 0.87 and 21.3 of those still in India.

Lifestyle

Poor sleep, little physical activity and lack of sunlight can lead to low testosterone. Make sure you do these things.

Money

Usually, people in more affluent living areas make more money, thus they typically have less stress and eat better food. This can lead to higher testosterone. Invest in yourself, make more money and you might get higher T for it. Once you make a good living, don’t become complacent.

Summary – testosterone across race

Moral of the story, regardless of where you live or what race you are, everyone has about the same level of testosterone. If you gain excess weight, testosterone drops. Excess weight gain seems to be the greatest determining factor for testosterone levels.

But you can take it one step further. Eat nutrient-dense foods and the right macro split and you can boost your testosterone much higher than the average.

Other cool content you’ll enjoy or benefit from:

• Testosterone by age
• Free testosterone by age
• How to maximize testosterone
• How to increase free testosterone

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