Viagra and Cialis get the job done, but it’s a quick and temporary fix for impotence also called erectile dysfunction (ED). There are other more lasting things you can do to help ED, such as losing weight. In fact, being overweight or obese not only increases your chance of having a heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and cancer, but can put a damper on your ability to perform in bed.  The good news is that losing a few pounds may help erectile dysfunction.

A new Australian study, published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, found that losing just 5 percent to 10 percent of body weight over a two-month period improved the erectile function — and revved up the sex drives — of obese men with diabetes.

The study was very small (it included just 31 men), so the results should be taken with a grain of salt. However, the Australian study supports results of another medical study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) showing weight loss achieved by diet and exercise can improve erectile function in obese men with erectile dysfunction. These findings are yet another reminder that obesity and ED often go hand in hand.

As many as 30 million men have erectile dysfunction. And while ED increases with age, it is not an inevitable part of aging. About 4 percent of men in their 50s and nearly 17 percent of men in their 60s experience a total inability to achieve an erection. The incidence jumps to 47 percent for men older than 75.  According to the Mayo Clinic, besides being overweight, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, and lack of exercise are lifestyle factors that can contribute to erectile dysfunction.

In a previous post, we reported how Exercise Can Improve Your Sex Life.  Results of a medical study, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, found exercise can add years to a man’s sex life and lower chances of impotence. Researchers from Harvard looked at more than 30,000 men over the age of 50 and found those who were physically active reported better erections with a 30 percent lower risk of impotence than men who were inactive.

There’s lots of medical evidence confirming that exercising, eating healthier foods and losing weight reduces your risk of having a heart attack or stroke and improves overall health. And now you can add improving your sex life to that list. Do you need any other reasons to start exercising and drop a few pounds?

Read More:
Erectile Dysfunction? Try Losing Weight–CNN.com
How Exercise Can Improve your Sex Life