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Probably caused by hypertension of atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease or alteration in the hormones due to obesity, obese men are prone to higher risk of erectile dysfunction, according to a recent article on Obesity and Weight Management. Around 30 to 40 percent of men above the age of 50 may suffer from erectile dysfunction. The development of atherosclerotic plaque of the arteries in obese men could cause damage to the arterial lining and lead to elevated blood pressure. Apart from atherosclerosis, the changes in the hormones that come along with obesity, including reduction of testosterone, contributes to high risk of erectile dysfunction. The changeable risk factors of heart disease like diabetes, over weight and hypertension are similar to those for erectile dysfunction.
David Sarwe, Phd, of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Adam Gilden Tsai, MD, MSCE, of the University of Colorado, Denver, have described a 48 year old man with a weight of 197 pounds and body mass index of 32.6kg/m2, that can be considered mildly obese. He also has mil hypertension complaints. This man is suffering from erectile dysfunction. Even with the usage of erectile dysfunction medicines, he wasn’t able to get an adequate erection for intercourse. He went through 4.6 percent weight loss and took medications for lowering his blood pressure to the normal range. When he used the ED medication after that, he was able have an erection necessary for sexual intercourse.
The author of the article stresses that “the complicated interplay of weight and other health conditions relate to common medical symptoms, such as ED. We are reminded that atherosclerosis can cause not only macro vascular disease such as heart attack and stroke, but also micro vascular disease, of which ED is one example.”
“If you are looking for another reason to lose weight, research now suggests that erectile dysfunction can improve with weight loss,” suggests James O. Hill, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine, Editor-in-Chief of Obesity and Weight Management, Director of Colorado Clinical Nutrition Research Unit at the University of Colorado Denver and Director of the Center for Human Nutrition.










