Flacid units and obesity

Cialias, Viagra, Levitra, drugs promising to enhance the male erection have become widely accepted prescription medication many men resort to in order to have sex.

In 1998, Viagra hit the market and with it many men's prayers were answered in a little blue pill. Only the birth control pill has ever come close to prompting the societal and cultural changes brought on by this 'cure' for erectile dysfunction.
By 2002, over 11,000 prescriptions were written each day by primary care doctors and urologists in the United States alone keeping in mind that there is no way to actually track internet and black market sales.

In spite of their popularity, drugs designed to treat erectile dysfunction don't work for many men with severe cardiovascular disease. Why?

A recent study out of Adelaide University’s medical school in Australia presents yet another reason why being obese blows. If losing weight, avoiding a variety of obesity related diseases and preventing cardiovascular disease isn't motivation enough for men to lose weight, then maybe knowing they are more likely to experience a flacid unit might be. And for some men, even a pill won't restore the possibility of pleasure.

We all know being obese isn't healthy. But what is less well known is that not only blood vessels to the heart are affected by obesity but similar effects occur with the blood vessels to the penis with resulting erectile dysfunction and poor urinary tract function. And obesity isn't something reserved just for the aged man.

According to the Mayo Clinic, erectile dysfunction can be a wake-up call that men are at risk for heart disease. The same factors that contribute to heart disease — smoking, cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure and others — can cause sexual problems.

In one study, 64 percent of men who'd had heart attacks had erectile dysfunction before they knew they had cardiovascular disease. Some experts suggest that if you haven't been diagnosed with heart problems, consider erectile dysfunction a wake up call. It could be a warning sign that the blood vessels feeding the heart might also be in trouble.

The same factors that increase risk of atherosclerosis in the arteries in a man's penis also increases the chances of coronary artery disease. Because the arteries supplying the penis are smaller than the ones to the heart, symptoms may first show up as a flacid unit.

What study after study is showing is that men with metabolic syndrome are more likely to have sexual problems.
Metabolic syndrome is characterized by a group of metabolic risk factors including abdominal obesity, blood fat disorders, elevated blood pressure, and insulin resistance or glucose intolerance (AKA a pre-diabetic state). Then add a little smoking on top of metabolic syndrome and a man's chances increase dramatically.

So is the answer really going to come in the form of a little pill? It would seem that as a culture we would rather treat symptoms with drugs then to look at the more likely source of our health issues. If looking and feeling better isn't motivation enough for men to lose weight, then perhaps the risk of never having unassisted sex might be.

AND, ever heard the expression lose 30 lbs and gain an inch?

Over and out.
Jane