Excess Weight and Erectile Function

Excess weight, particularly if it is concentrated in the abdomen, interferes with erectile function in a number of ways. The most important effect of excess weight is that it causes resistance of the body’s tissues to insulin. Insulin is a natural stimulator of NO (Nitric Oxide). The insulin resistance also leads to higher sugar levels, and sugar decreases NO production. The third way is that more circulating fat also decreases NO production by the blood vessels. Also, the fat cells are surrounded by a huge number of blood vessels that steal blood away from important activities like filling a penis with blood to cause an erection. Overweight individuals also eat more food (see Survival of the Firmest™) and the burning of that fuel releases more free-oxygen radicals that interfere with NO production and increase its breakdown. No wonder obese men have more difficulty with erectile function, and lack of exercise or superimposed diabetes make the problem even worse.

The good news is that in a series of non-diabetic obese men, weight loss and exercise improved erectile function in a third of the men. In our book, and even in more detail in our expanded on-line version, we suggest many simple changes you can make to get your weight going in the right direction. For men with both weight and erection problems, the biggest bang for the buck will be in cutting out sugary drinks (have green tea instead), and all fried foods, together with taking a thirty minute walk each night. Making these simple changes can result in a 30-50 pound weight loss each year. The amount of circulating sugar and fat will dramatically decrease, any diabetes may disappear, your blood pressure will come down, and your circulation will be more able to respond to the demands for sex and to provide the blood flow necessary for erectile health.

Our books also describe the myriad of health problems that occur due to excess weight. We are trying to scare you, because it really is scary. Whatever in your life worries you, it is a safe bet that your excess weight should worry you much more. Read every gory detail, because it does take a lot of motivation to turn a weight problem around. And imagine how much sexier you will feel when your love handles are showing again!  

Do weigh yourself at least every week- you can’t solve a problem without knowing what the problem is. Go to www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/ to calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI) to see how much extra weight you have, and read the chapter on extra fat in Survivalofthefirmest™ to put it in perspective regarding your health.
Do eat things like salads that fill you up.
Do eat fish instead of fatty beaf
Don’t eat fatty beef and fries
Don’t eat rich desserts

Eat more, weigh less: That was the title of a popular diet book years ago. The book emphasized that people gain weight because they eat foods with concentrated calories like sugary drinks, fried foods, fatty meat, and desserts full of sugar and fat, rather than foods with high fiber and water content that fill you up, such as salads, vegetables and fruits. Many very tasty dishes can be made by sautéing in as little as a tablespoon of oil, whereas deep frying can add hundreds of calories of oil to a serving. Fish such as salmon contains far fewer calories per serving than most meats and particularly fatty beef. There are many very tasty desserts such as low or non-fat yogurt. We give numerous examples in our expanded book (available on-line with purchase of Survival of the Firmest™) of ways that you can buy and prepare foods with the same volume to fill you up but with far fewer calories.