Erectile dysfunction is a condition that men of all age groups complain of today. It is more prevalent in men over 70 years, and the overweight usually suffer from erectile dysfunction. Men having a high body mass index (BMI) are also at a higher risk of experiencing erectile dysfunction, when compared with men of a normal BMI.



So in connection with this, some research was conducted to find out if weight loss and increased physical exercises improves erectile dysfunction (ED) in obese men. Men aged 35 to 45, having a BMI of 30 and above, and scored 21 or less in the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) test were recruited for this research. In the IIEF test, the men were to answer 5 questions which were worth 5 marks each. Thus the maximum score of the test was 25. However, men suffering from diabetes, increased cholesterol levels and high blood pressure were excluded from the research.

Though 140 men were first tested, 30 were eliminated because of health reasons and because they were not ready to adapt to new lifestyle changes that were necessary for the program. The remaining participants were then randomly allocated to either join the 'intervention' group or the 'control' group.

Those who were in the intervention group were advised on tips in reducing their body weight by 10 or more percent. This was achieved with diets for individual body types and physical activities. This program lasted for 2 years where the men visited the nutritionalist and the exercise trainer regularly. The first year had monthly visits and the second, bimonthly. However, the men in the control group were only advised on healthy eating and exercise at the baseline, with no extra counseling. However, they did visit the researchers every two months.

The tests that were conducted at baseline and at the end of two years included height, weight, blood pressure measurements, waist size, total cholesterol, triglyceride levels and HDL. Along with this the blood inflammatory markers, called C-reactive protein and interleukins 6 and 8, along with the function of the cells that lined the blood vessels after L-arginine stimulus were tested. Along with this, the IIEF was repeated after 2 years to consider success or failure in improvement of erectile dysfunction.

With these tests, it was found out that the results of IIEF and other tests were same in both groups of men at baseline. However, lifestyle changes reduced the BMI levels and thus improved the IIEF scores in the intervention group where ED practically disappeared. There were also improvements in other tests; but no such changes were seen in the control group of men.

With this, it is inferred that weight loss with changes in lifestyle improved ED in obese men. This proved that starting exercise in midlife avoided erectile dysfunction, especially for the overweight. Diet and exercise brings things back to normal; and this is the better alternative than turning to Viagra and other such erectile dysfunction drugs.