Young men who work out frequently have as much as 73 percent more sperm than those who don’t, and the more television one watches, the lower the count goes, according to a study by Harvard University researchers.

College-aged men who exercised more than 14 hours a week had the highest sperm counts. Watching TV had the opposite effect, with sperm counts almost halved for those viewing 20 or more hours a week, according to the study published yesterday in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

“The message is pretty clear,” said Jorge Chavarro, an assistant professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. “It makes sense to turn off the TV, and it makes sense to put on your running shoes or sports gear and get out there.”

The findings may influence how people think about exercise and men’s reproductive health. Past studies looking at sperm counts in athletes focused on highly trained cyclists and long- distance runners, and found that intense exercise by those athletes can reduce sperm. The Harvard researchers said their study participants included all types of athletes such as those who ran or who played soccer, basketball, baseball or football.