Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Benefits of Weight Loss For Overweight People With Type 2 – Including Increased Sex



No one is saying dieting will double your pleasure and double your fun. But a new study shows that regardless of which type of two diets used, obese men with type 2 diabetes who lost weight gained both an increase in sexual desire and sexual function.

In addition the small study showed multiple benefits to blood glucose and cardiovascular health as a result of a weight loss of about 10 percent in men who started the study with a Body Mass Index (BMI) over 30 and a waist over 40 inches (102 cm). The study was published online Aug. 5, 2011 in the Journal of Sexual Medicine. (Link to published site)


“We conclude that rapid diet-induced weight loss improves sexual, urinary, and endothelial function, and reduces systemic inflammation, in a population comprised exclusively of obese diabetic men,” the authors wrote.

While an association between obesity and sexual dysfunction has been shown in previous studies, MedPage Today points out that this collaborative study involving researchers at the Changi General Hospital, Singapore, and the University of Adelaide, Australia, added several new aspects to the link.
MedPage says the study also looked at the effects of two different diets on both sexual desire and sexual function. In addition, they also looked at several blood markers of blood vessel inflammation, blood vessel disease and lower urinary tract symptoms.

The study led by Dr. Joan Khoo Department of Endocrinology, Changi General Hospital, Singapore, randomly assigned 31 obese men to one of two diets. One diet emphasized high-protein, low fat foods and reduced carbohydrates to reduce calorie intake by 600 calories per day. The other relied on liquid meal-replacement twice daily that allowed intake of 900 calories per day.

After just 8 weeks men in the low-calorie liquid diet achieved about a 10 percent reduction in average body weight, or about a 20-pound weight loss. Men in the high-protein diet achieved about a 5 percent, or 12-pound weight loss.

The researchers found that the men in both diets, who lost about 10 percent of their body weight significantly improved blood sugar, cholesterol, and several other blood markers of blood vessel health. They also showed that the men had both statistically significant and clinically significant improvement in lower urinary tract symptoms just as a result of the diets.

About half the men remained in the study for one year, and those that did maintained the health benefits, or further improved upon them.

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