Gain Weight, Lose Your Sex Life?

Gain Weight, Lose Your Sex Life?

By Leon Vorobeichik | Medically reviewed by Farrokh Sohrabi, MD

Erectile dysfunction is commonly attributed to obesity, and both can sink your sex life. Find out why you should take control of your weight to regain your libido.

Erectile dysfunction, or ED, is one of the most common chronic conditions men face. It's estimated that 18 million men older than 20 experience it to some degree. Yet those numbers don't lessen the anxiety you feel when it happens to you.

Men experience ED in different ways, but in general, erectile dysfunction is the inability to achieve or maintain an erection for desired sexual activity. Though various things can cause ED, there's a consistently strong connection between obesity and sexual dysfunction - obese men are 2½ times more likely to experience ED than those of normal weight.

Obesity refers to body weight that is far above what is considered healthy. However, you could start to notice a variety of health issues, including ED, by being just 30 pounds overweight.

Obesity and Erectile Dysfunction: A Real Downer

The effects of weight gain on your sex life are twofold. First, obesity predisposes you to cardiovascular conditions such as atherosclerosis - cholesterol deposits on the walls of blood vessels that impede blood flow to your organs, including the penis. Second, obese men have lower levels of testosterone, a male hormone vital to sexual function. This affects the ability to achieve erections because you need testosterone to increase the availability of nitric oxide, a blood vessel dilator in penile tissue.

In fact, the connection between heart health and sexual health is so strong that erectile dysfunction can often be the first sign of cardiovascular disease in overweight men. Researchers at the Institute of Cardiology at the University of Milan found that nearly all men who had coronary artery disease had experienced ED an average of 2 to 3 years before developing heart symptoms. Also, doctors at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio found that because of its connection to obesity, erectile dysfunction may be a predictor of future heart attacks and strokes. Read more