Sexuality and Health : The New Studies

Copyright 2006 Danna Schneider
It's really not that big of a leap to assume that general "good health" practices adhered to by the average male will also help ensure a healthy sex life. In the case of male sexuality, the phrase "you are what you eat" is taking on a whole new meaning according to new studies which strongly tie heart health and the absence of obesity to the absence of impotence and other similar sexual dysfunctions in men.
In a newly released comprehensive study which followed over 22,000 men in the United States for 14 years, the findings confirmed what we all pretty much knew, that lifestyle choices are strongly linked to the risk of erectile dysfunction in men.
While common sense tells us that our lifestyle choices, such as exercise and diet habits, have strong influences on both our overall mental and physical health, there was never really a strong body of research to back this hypothesis up in the sexual health department. Well, now there is - at least for men.
Of the 22,000 men in the study, those men who were considered clinically obese when the study started, were found to be 90% more likely to develop some sort of erectile dysfunction than the slimmer, or normal range men. Not only that, but another lifestyle choice, smoking, was shown to increase a man's risk of sexual dysfunction by 50% when compared to non smoking males.
Interestingly enough, researchers have noted that sexual dysfunction in men used to be thought of as primarily a psychological rather than physiological issue, but this new research confirms that many of the lifestyle choices that are correlated to physical health, and more importantly heart health, are also strongly linked to a healthy sex life for men.
If you think about this relationship, it does make sense though really, since both heart health and erectile health are linked to a healthy blood flow, which is influenced greatly by the lifestyle factors of obesity, smoking and exercise.
It seems like they thought of everything in this study, and just as well, since it is the largest group of test subjects to date on sexual health studies for men. Regular cardiovascular exercise was also shown to protect against erectile issues in the exercisers vs. the non-exercisers in this study.
The men who reported they took part in the most consistent and highest levels of exercise were roughly 30% less likely to develop erectile dysfunction over the study's 14 years than their sedentary counterparts.
Hopefully these new findings will help to lead men to a healthier lifestyle, since it has produced convincing and clear evidence that a healthy lifestyle also leads to a healthy and active sex life, a major driving biological force in men.
Knowing that they have more than just their health at risk may dramatically raise health awareness and solidify the belief that a healthy lifestyle is essential to so many key factors of living a happy and fulfilling life.