{"id":16460,"date":"2016-01-25T05:01:45","date_gmt":"2016-01-25T12:01:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.accessrx.com\/blog\/?p=16460"},"modified":"2018-12-28T19:12:51","modified_gmt":"2018-12-28T19:12:51","slug":"how-much-can-losing-weight-help-your-erection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.edrugstore.com\/blog\/erectile-dysfunction\/how-much-can-losing-weight-help-your-erection\/","title":{"rendered":"How Much Can Losing Weight Help Your Erection?"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you are overweight, losing excess weight can make a tremendous difference in erection quality. Healthy loss of excess weight, along with regular exercise, a healthy eating plan, and elimination of habits like smoking can go a long way toward improving symptoms of erectile dysfunction (ED). Medications like Viagra can also help with ED symptoms.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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There’s no denying the effectiveness and significance of drugs like Viagra in addressing the relatively common problem of erectile dysfunction (ED).<\/p>\n

Viagra and drugs like it (Cialis, Levitra, Staxyn) belong to a drug class called PDE-5 inhibitors, and the way they address ED is by allowing the blood vessels leading to the sex organs to relax so that more blood can flow into the penis during sexual stimulation. Generally these drugs are taken on an as-needed basis, although there is a low-dose regimen with Cialis where men take a small dose of the drug at the same time each day to stave off ED on a more long term basis. It allows men to have a more spontaneous sex life because of Cialis’s long half-life in the body compared to its competitors.<\/p>\n

But although these drugs are effective and safe for most men, there are many things the average man can do to help the drugs work better. Anything that improves circulation in general, like exercising regularly and giving up cigarettes, can help combat ED and help the medications work better (or make them unnecessary in some cases). Another step that can improve erections whether or not a man takes ED medications is losing excess weight.<\/p>\n

Weight Gain and Cardiovascular Health<\/h3>\n

Carrying around excess weight makes your cardiovascular system work harder. Research by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute on over 5,000 participants found that the risk of heart failure goes up by about 5% for men<\/a> with every additional one-point increase in body mass index (BMI). Individuals considered “overweight” have a risk of heart failure that’s about one-third higher than normal weight individuals, and that risk jumps to 104% higher for people who are classified as “obese” (generally someone with a BMI of 30 or higher).<\/p>\n

Clogged arteries and high blood pressure tend to increase with excess weight, and both of these conditions contribute to erection problems. Clogged arteries aren’t just the ones located near the heart, but throughout the body, including those that supply the sex organs. When blood can’t flow as freely as it should in a healthy individual, erection problems can result.<\/p>\n

Weight Gain and Testosterone Levels<\/h3>\n

Excess weight can also affect hormone levels, including levels of testosterone. Testosterone levels tend to gradually decline with age, but being overweight can lead to a bigger drop in testosterone levels, according to an Australian study<\/a> published in the European Journal of Endocrinology<\/i>. In fact, levels of testosterone, dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and estradiol (E2) all tend to drop with greater body weight, higher body mass, higher body surface area, and shorter stature. The researchers suggested that research on age-related decline in these hormones should also focus on other medical conditions (like obesity) that affect hormonal balance.<\/p>\n

So a man carrying around excess weight is potentially dealing with high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease, which affect blood flow throughout the body, and they may have lower levels of testosterone than they would at a normal weight, so it’s no mystery why erection problems are more common in men who are overweight<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Obesity Affects Other ED Risk Factors<\/h3>\n

According to the Mayo Clinic<\/a>, risk factors for erection problems include:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Diabetes
\n\u2022 Heart disease
\n\u2022 Medications that treat depression
\n\u2022 Medications that treat high blood pressure
\n\u2022 Stress, anxiety, and depression<\/p>\n

All of these conditions can be aggravated by dealing with excess weight or obesity, further complicating matters for overweight men with erection problems. So if a man is overweight and has erectile dysfunction, does losing weight help address the issue? The answer appears to be “Yes!”<\/p>\n

The Good News: Losing Excess Weight Can Help Significantly<\/h3>\n

Losing excess weight can make a real difference in terms of erection quality. Not only does losing extra pounds correlate with better cardiovascular health, it is associated with lower blood pressure, better blood glucose control, and in many cases, psychological and self-esteem benefits. In fact, overweight men who take ED medications like Viagra are often advised by their doctors to shed excess pounds, both for overall health and sexual health.<\/p>\n

Obesity in particular appears to damage the endothelium – the tissue forming a single cell layer that lines the blood vessels and heart, which can aggravate erection problems, but men who lose weight experience improved endothelial function<\/a>, further contributing to conditions leading to better erections.<\/p>\n

For some men, healthy weight loss alone is enough to reverse erection problems. For men who still need to take medications for erectile dysfunction, the loss of extra weight can help these medications work better, because the medications aren’t up against damaged endothelium, clogged arteries, and high blood pressure in addition to erection problems.<\/p>\n

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Fitness and maintaining a healthy weight help men maintain healthy erections too.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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An Italian Study of Obesity and ED<\/h3>\n

The link between healthy weight and higher quality erections has been explored for years. In fact, over a decade ago, a study in Italy that was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association<\/i> followed 110 obese men with erectile dysfunction<\/a> ranging in age from 35 to 55.<\/p>\n

The men in the study were prescribed healthy eating and exercise to help them lose 10% or more of their body weight. The average participant lost 33 pounds over two years and became more physically active. One-third of these men reported “significant” improvement in sexual function. This study was considered especially important because it was one of the first that examined treatments for erection problems other than drugs and surgery.<\/p>\n

Other Benefits of Shedding Excess Weight<\/h3>\n

Of course, the benefits of losing excess weight extend well beyond better erections. Insulin sensitivity improves, blood pressure goes down, and the risk of heart disease drops as well. Men can lose as little as 5 to 10% of their body weight and experience significant improvements in health – including sexual health.<\/p>\n

Another benefit is the benefit of improved self-esteem<\/a>. Most people feel physically better and feel better about themselves after losing excess weight they don’t need to be carrying around. Feeling better and having a better body image can enhance your confidence and sexual enjoyment, which is a terrific incentive to stick with healthy habits.<\/p>\n

There are countless reasons to shed excess weight, and whatever motivates people toward a healthier lifestyle is positive. There’s nothing wrong with using the prospect of improved sexual health and higher quality erections as motivation to adopt a healthier lifestyle. Whether or not you use prescription medications like Viagra, the better your lifestyle habits, in general, the better your erections will be.<\/p>\n

eDrugstore.com<\/a> works with US-licensed pharmacists to dispense ED medications like Viagra at competitive prices with unparalleled convenience. We invite you to learn more about erectile dysfunction<\/a> and your options for addressing this common issue with sexual health. \"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you are overweight, losing excess weight can make a tremendous difference in erection quality. Healthy loss of excess weight, along with regular exercise, a healthy eating plan, and elimination of habits like smoking can go a long way toward improving symptoms of erectile dysfunction (ED). Medications like Viagra can also help with ED symptoms. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22889,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_autoblog_aioseo_focus_keyphrase":"","_autoblog_aioseo_title":"","_autoblog_aioseo_description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[22,23],"class_list":["post-16460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-erectile-dysfunction","tag-ed","tag-erectile-dysfunction-2"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t