Obesity and Erectile Dysfunction
By: Andrew Todd
Tags: Sex, Erectile Dysfunction, Obesity, Medical, Body Image

Obesity and Erectile Dysfunction

Obesity is one of the most common medical conditions linked to erectile dysfunction.

Obesity is a complex disease involving an excessive amount of body fat. Besides its esthetic aspect, obesity is a medical problem that increases the risk of other diseases and health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and certain cancers. In many circumstances, many patients have a combination of these medical problems. In the current lifestyle environment, these chronic medical issues are becoming epidemics, particularly in the US.

Statistics on obesity show that the prevalence of obesity was 40.0% among young adults aged 20 to 39 years, 44.8% among middle-aged adults aged 40 to 59 years, and 42.8% among adults aged 60 and older. These are very concerning numbers that require serious interventions from the health policy makers.

Obviously, there are several degrees of obesity, from slightly overweight to morbidly obese and the severity of the condition is matched by the degree of obesity. The degree of obesity is associated in the same way to the development of erectile dysfunction.

How is obesity causing erectile dysfunction?

Overweight/obesity can cause E.D. by damaging the blood vessels, decreasing testosterone and causing a state of generalized inflammation in the body. Obesity can cause damage to blood vessels due to the associated hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia and inflammation.

Overweight and obesity may increase the risk of erectile dysfunction (ED) by 30–90% as compared with normal weight subjects. On the other hand, subjects with ED tend to be heavier and with a greater waist than subjects without ED, and also are more likely to be hypertensive and with high cholesterol levels.

Both obesity and erectile dysfunction share an internal pathologic environment, also known as common soil. Their main pathophysiologic processes are oxidative stress, inflammation, and resultant insulin and leptin resistance. Moreover, the severity of ED is correlated with comorbid medical conditions as mentioned earlier.

To address erectile dysfunction in these cases means to address obesity first.

Losing weight can help fight erectile dysfunction, so getting to a healthy weight and staying there is another good strategy for avoiding or fixing ED. Obesity raises risks for vascular disease and diabetes, two major causes of ED. And excess fat interferes with several hormones that may be part of the problem as well.

Of course, this is easier said than done, but not impossible. Amelioration of the comorbidities may increase the efficacy of ED treatment with PDES 5 inhibitors, the first-line medication for patients with ED. In other words, if you are obese and/or have some other medical conditions associated with your ED, the treatment will focus on fixing each medical issue and taking your medication — Viagra (Sildenafil), Cialis (Tadalafil) or Levitra (Vardenafil).

For more information talk to one of our doctors or pharmacists at: www.myswink.com or at 1–866-myswink.

References:

https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000348.htm

https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html

https://www.publichealth.org/public-awareness/obesity/

https://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/obesity/obesity-america-growing-concern

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/obesity-in-america-whats-driving-the-epidemic

https://www.tfah.org/report-details/state-of-obesity-2020/

World J Mens Health. 2019 May; 37(2): 138–147. Published online 2018 Jul 25. doi: 10.5534/wjmh.180026 Obesity and Erectile Dysfunction: From Bench to Clinical Implication Ki Hak Moon,1 So Young Park,2 and Yong Woon Kim

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De Souza ILL, Barros BC, de Oliveira GA, Queiroga FR, Toscano LT, Silva AS, et al. Hypercaloric diet establishes erectile dysfunction in rat: mechanisms underlying the endothelial damage. Front Physiol. 2017;8:760

Fillo J, Levcikova M, Ondrusova M, Breza J, Labas P. Importance of different grades of abdominal obesity on testosterone level, erectile dysfunction, and clinical coincidence. Am J Mens Health. 2017;11:240–245.

Hannan JL, Maio MT, Komolova M, Adams MA. Beneficial impact of exercise and obesity interventions on erectile function and its risk factors. J Sex Med. 2009;(6 Suppl 3):254–261