Men – will losing weight improve your sex life?

I found an interesting article on the MedlinePlus website titled: Weight loss surgery improves sexual function in men.

According to the study, morbid obesity can cause a man to have the sexual function of a non-obese man about 20 years older. There aren’t too many men who would be happy about that statistic.

The report goes on to say that weight loss surgery tends to restore sexual function to “age-based norms.”

I am not normally a fan of weight loss surgery, because of the inherent risks of gastric bypass operations. However, I do realize that many people feel so discouraged by repeated failures to lose weight that they believe surgery is their only option. Perhaps for many people that’s true.

However, I do wish that reports like this would emphasis that it was the loss of excess weight that caused the improved sexual function in these formerly obese men, and not the surgery itself.

For instance, would the same effect come from physician-monitored fasting? I know that sounds pretty radical, but doctors who oppose fasting as “unsafe” may still prescribe bypass surgery, which imposes an involuntary fast on the patient at a time when their bodies are most vulnerable. When you look at it that way, it looks a little less unreasonable.

Putting my prejudices about gastric bypass operations aside, I think the fact that obesity can be so devastating to a man’s sexual health should be more widely publicized. I realize that it may not be the topic that most men – especially overweight men – may want to talk about. However, if an improved sex life was one of the things a man could look forward to when he loses a few (or many) pounds, it might make it a bit easier to stick to a healthy diet and watch the portion sizes.

If the subject were discussed more openly, perhaps more men would take steps to lose weight early on, when they first notice that they’re putting on extra pounds – and before the physiological changes that come with morbid obesity. That could help many peole  avoid the eventual necessity of weight loss surgery. (And they might enjoy many more years of a healthy sexual life!)