Losing weight may improve sexual health

By Anna Sayburn

BMJ Group News

What do we know already?

Being very overweight (obese) and having type 2 diabetes can increase men’s risk of having erection problems and urinary symptoms, such as difficulty urinating.

It may seem strange that weight and diabetes have an effect on these areas, but researchers think it may have to do with levels of inflammation in the body. Also, we know that carrying a lot of fat around your waist can change your hormone levels, which may disrupt your sex life.

Previous studies have shown that losing weight on a rapid weight-loss diet can improve both erection problems and urinary symptoms for overweight men in the short-term. But there’s not much evidence about whether these improvements last.

To test the long-term effects, researchers recruited a group of 31 men with diabetes, all of whom were obese, and put them on a diet. They measured what happened to the men’s sexual health and urinary symptoms, and also their hormone and inflammation levels. The study lasted for one year.

What does the new study say?

Half the group was on a very low-calorie diet (less than 900 calories daily) for the first eight weeks of the study, to see the effect of a short-term rapid weight-loss diet. The other half were on a high-protein diet, which aimed to reduce calorie intake by 600 calories a day. After eight weeks, everyone went onto the high-protein diet.

At first sight, the results of the study look good. Most of the men lost weight and most showed improvements in their ability to get an erection, their libido, and their urinary symptoms. In most cases, the improvements had started by eight weeks, and continued over the course of the year-long study.

The men’s hormone levels also showed improvements. Men on the high-protein diet showed an improvement in their inflammation levels. However, the improvements were limited. Only 5 of the 31 men improved to the extent that their ability to get an erection was normal. And of the 17 men with severe erection problems, 10 did not improve.

How reliable is the research?

Almost half the group dropped out after the first eight weeks of the study. Ten men dropped out from the very low-calorie diet group, and five from the high-protein diet group. That makes it hard to rely on the long-term figures. It may be that the men who dropped out did so because they weren’t seeing much improvement, and that if they had been included in the long-term figures, the results would look less impressive.

What does this mean for me?

If you are very overweight, there’s no doubt that losing weight can help your health in many ways. This study suggests losing weight might also help if you have problems getting an erection or if you have urinary problems.

However, both of these symptoms can be signs of other, more serious health problems. You should always see a doctor if you get these symptoms, so you can have them checked out. Difficulty getting an erection can be an early warning sign of heart disease, and difficulty urinating may mean problems with your prostate gland.

If you do want to lose weight, especially if you plan to lose weight quickly on a very low-calorie diet, it’s best to talk to a doctor about how to do this safely. The diets for the men in the study were designed by dieticians to ensure they got all the nutrients they needed while cutting down on calories.