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Move over, Viagra? Study says weight loss boosts men's sexual function

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(CBS) Even a little weight loss can bring big improvements in male sexual function. A new study shows that shedding as little as 5 percent of body weight helped obese diabetic men reverse erectile dysfunction.

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For the eight-week study, published in the August 5 issue of The Journal of Sexual Medicine, researchers put 31 obese men with type 2 diabetes on a low calorie diet. The researchers found that modest weight loss rapidly reversed sexual and urinary problems that plague men with diabetes. And the effects lasted for as long as a year.

Previous research had shown losing larger amounts of body weight through surgery, like 30 percent, would improve sexual symptoms in overweight men, WebMD reported. Experts think diabetic patients should heed these new findings.

"We have an epidemic of obesity in our society and we're seeing this more and more and more," Dr. Drogo Montague, professor of surgery at the Cleveland Clinic told, WebMD. "This is kind of a way of showing that even smaller amounts of weight loss can be effective."

As many as 30 million men have erectile dysfunction. Besides being overweight, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, and lack of exercise are lifestyle factors that can contribute to erectile dysfunction.

Study author Dr. Gary Wittert, professor of medicine at University of Adelaide in Australia, wants his next study to look at how exercise can help fat men improve their sexual function. He already tells his diabetic patients to add a daily walk to their routine.

"Instead of sitting down in front of the telly, take your wife by the hand and say, 'Come, darling, let's go for a walk,'" he told MyHealthNewsDaily. "After a month of this, her heart will get fonder and your erection will get stronger."

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has more on erectile dysfunction.

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