Study shows correlation between big men and small erections

William Atkins
Wednesday, 12 March 2008 19:54

Science - Health

An Australian medical study has shown that obese men in Australia have more erection problems with their penises than normal weight men. The researcher thinks that weight loss may help alleviate male erectile dysfunction, along with reducing the risk of heart problems.      

Gary Wittert, the head of the medical school at the University of Adelaide, in South Australia, performed the study in response to the growing trend of obesity in men in Australia, along with the increased risk of seroius chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease

Wittert and other scientists already knew that blood vessels to the heart are adversely affected by obesity. When problems like this occur, cardiovascular problems begin to occur, such as heart attacks and strokes.

However, less information is known about blood vessels in the penis, and how they are affected by obesity. Blood vessels in the penis allow the penis to enlarge before and during sexual intercourse.

The Wittert study was part of the Florey Adelaide Male Ageing Study. In the study, about one thousand men were examined in order to identify major factors that determine their psychological, physical, and reproductive health.

Wittert concluded in his study that when blood vessels are adversely affected in the penis due to obesity, men can often get erectile dysfunction and poor urinary tract function.

Erectile dysfunction (ED), sometimes also called male impotence, is a sexual dysfunction (failure to perform normally) that is characterized by the inability to develop or maintain an erection of the penis.

Medical studies have shown that an overwhelming percentage of erectile dysfunction cases (around 90%) are physical in nature, not psychological.

Just how bad is the trend toward obesity in Australia and the United States? And how it relates to erectile problems? Please read on.