Exercise To Lose Weight And Improve Sexual Health

Obesity has long been linked to other conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes and impotence. If you are currently carrying a bit of excess weight, you are probably tired of hearing about it. But, there is good news to be had: if your erectile dysfunction is a by-product of high body fat, even a small weight loss can increase sexual function. Those are the findings of researchers at University of Adelaide, which were published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine this month.

Scientists are not quite sure why, but it has long been known that obesity damages the endothelium, a thin layer of cells found throughout the circulatory system that reduces turbulence and allows the blood to keep its momentum and reach even the most remote blood vessels. Because an erection is basically a cardiac event - the penis hardens due to increased blood flow into the erectile tissue - endothelial health is a crucial factor in erectile health.

EDGuider Blog: Overweight and Obese Men with Erectile Dysfunction, What to Do?

Excess body weight can also affect penile health negatively through atherosclerosis, a condition in which fat in the form of cholesterol builds up in the arteries and decreases blood flow.  Atherosclerosis not only minimises the amount of blood which reaches the penis, but causes chronic inflammation which in turn hurts the crucial nitric oxide production, without which the smooth muscles of the penis will not relax to open the valve for blood flow into the penis. To make matters worse, chronic inflammation also affects testosterone production negatively, lowering both lust and erection quality.

On to the good news: sexual health can be restored with weight loss. A team of scientists from the University of Adelaide in Australia, lead by Dr. Gary Wittert, recently conducted a small study on 31 clinically obese men suffering from type 2 diabetes. Some of the participants were assigned a classic low-calorie diet with liquid meal replacers, while others were put on a high-protein, low-fat diet, reducing their daily calorie intake by 600 kcal. Both groups spent 42 weeks on their respective diets.

READ THE WHOLE STUDY AT ADELAIDE:  Weight Loss Improves Sexual Health

At the end of the study, the men on a classic low-calorie diet had lost on average 10% of their body weight and waist circumference. The men who were assigned the high-protein diet had lost 5%. Both groups improved their blood sugar and cholesterol and, as a pleasant side-effect, their sexual desire, endothelial function, and erectile function.

In addition to the increased overall blood flow, testosterone and nitric oxide, there may be psychological reasons to lose weight as well, both in terms of general well-being and for sexual health.

"People need to feel good about themselves [to] overcome performance anxiety and other things in the sex arena, and sometimes it's as simple as getting into shape," says Dr. Stephen Josephson, a psychologist at New York-Presbyterian Hospital.   

A little weight loss could go a very long way. If not for longevity and overall health, do it for the quality of your sex life.  That is the message doctors think will help the most.