Weight Loss Found to Increase Sex Drive in Obese Men

A modest weight loss of five percent led to an slowing of erectile dysfunction and improved sexual desire within eight weeks, and these improvements continued for 12 months, according to the study published Aug. 5 in The Journal of Sexual Medicine.

Obese men with Diabetes 2 can enhance erectile function and decrease urinary tract symptoms along with increased sexual desire by losing weight, a new study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine shows.

Australian researchers placed 31 obese men with type 2 diabetes on either a meal replacement-based low-calorie diet or a low-fat, high-protein, reduced-carbohydrate diet meant to decrease calorie intake by 600 calories a day.

Problems with urinary tract function also improved, the team added.

Gary Wittert M.D., a professor at the University of Adelaide, studied the weight of each man with diabetes type 2 over eight weeks while on the low calorie diet. The overweight men lost five percent in weight and their sexual and urinary problems improved within eight weeks as improvements continued for months.

"Our findings are consistent with the evidence that not only erectile function, but also lower urinary tract symptoms are a marker of cardio-metabolic risk," Wittert said.

"The evidence that improvement can be achieved by modest weight loss, in particular when a diet is of high nutritional quality, is of public health significance in framing public health messages that resonate with men," he added.

Obesity-related direct expenditures are expected to account for more than 21 percent of the nation's direct health care spending in 2018 according to UnitedHealth Group report in 2010.

"Our findings are consistent with the evidence that not only erectile function, but also lower urinary tract symptoms are a marker of cardio-metabolic risk," Wittert noted in a journal news release.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one-third of U.S. adults - 33.8 percent - are obese. "This important paper supports earlier publications that lifestyle is relevant and can positively affect sexual function," said Irwin Goldstein, Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Sexual Medicine.

"At a time when oral drugs are very popular, it can now be shown that weight loss is an important non-pharmacologic therapeutic intervention in restoring erectile and urinary function and cardio-vascular health.

Obesity is an epidemic, and such data reinforce the positive relationship between eating right, losing weight, improved sexual function and voiding and overall cardiovascular health.

The U.S. is expected to use $344 billion on health care costs related to obesity in 2018 if rates continue to surge at their current levels.