Increased libido as benefit of weight loss

s*xual function improved significantly and quickly in obese men with type 2 diabetes after weight loss with reduced-calorie diets, results of a small Australian clinical study showed.

The research looked at 31 men who lost five per cent to 10 per cent of their body weight in eight weeks, finding that erectile function, s*xual desire, and urinary symptoms also benefited significantly.

In addition, blood glucose levels and insulin sensitivity responded favourable to either a low-calorie, meal-replacement diet or a high protein-low carbohydrate diet, according to an article published online in the Journal of s*xual Medicine.

These improvements were maintained during a year of follow-up.

“We conclude that rapid diet-induced weight loss improves s*xual, urinary, and endothelial function, and reduces systemic inflammation, in a population comprised exclusively of obese diabetic men,” Joan Khoo, MRCP, of Changi General Hospital in Singapore, and Australian co-authors wrote.

“Further improvements during weight maintenance, using a high-protein low-fat diet, suggest that both nutrient quality and caloric restriction contribute to these benefits.”

The favourable effect of weight loss on s*xual function is not new. However, the study might be the first to demonstrate an impact on s*xual desire, Culley Carson, MD, of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, told MedPage Today. Weight loss’s apparently favorable effect on inflammation also is a notable finding, added Carson, who was not involved in the study.

Obesity and type 2 diabetes increase the risk of erectile dysfunction and lower urinary tract symptoms, which are often associated with each other and with systemic inflammation and endothelial dysfunction (which can result from or contribute to diabetes, hypertension, and other diseases).

Rapid weight loss by dietary means can improve erectile dysfunction and lower urinary tract symptoms, the authors noted in their introductory comments. Studies also have shown improved endothelial function and reduced inflammation after weight loss, particularly in people who lose at least 10 per cent of body weight.

Scant data have connected diet to weight loss, endothelial function, systemic inflammation, s*xual function, and lower urinary tract symptoms in obese men. To address that issue, Khoo and co-authors conducted a randomised study involving 31 men.

All the study participants who had type 2 diabetes, were considered obese, and had a waist circumference greater than 102 centimetres. They were randomised to two dietary plans:

Liquid meal-replacement consumed twice daily and one small, nutritionally balanced meal, providing a total energy of about 900 kcal/day (low-calorie diet).

Investigators had an extensive list of outcome measures, including weight, waist circumference, the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF), s*xual Desire Inventory (SDI), International Prostate Symptom Scale (IPSS), fasting glucose and lipids, testosterone, s*x hormone binding globulin (SHBG) and a battery of inflammatory markers.

The primary assessment occurred after eight weeks, and follow-up continued for an additional 44 weeks. All participants who opted to remain in the study for long-term follow-up consumed the high-protein diet during the follow-up. About half of the men remained in the study for the entire 52 weeks. Of those who did, improvements were either maintained or increased.

Men randomised to the low-calorie diet had about a 10 per cent reduction in body weight and waist circumference at eight weeks, as compared with about five per cent among men assigned to the high-protein diet. Weight loss at eight weeks averaged 21 pounds with the low-calorie diet and 12 pounds with the high-protein diet.