Weight loss, quitting smoking and controlling blood pressure and glucose can improve erections
Reducing cardiovascular risk factors can improve erectile function itself by an average of 2–3 points on a questionnaire. The scale tops out at 25; scores of 22 or above are considered normal.
What it takes
Free, and potentially money-saving. The hard part is sustained changes to eating, activity and smoking.
What you may gain
A meta-analysis combined 6 randomized trials involving 740 men and at least 6 weeks of follow-up. Lifestyle changes or medication to reduce cardiovascular risk improved IIEF-5 erectile-function scores by an average of 2.66 points (95% CI 1.86–3.47). Excluding 2 statin trials involving 143 men left 4 lifestyle-only trials with 597 men; improvement remained 2.40 points (1.19–3.61). IIEF-5 has 5 questions and scores from 5 to 25. The original paper defines five categories, with 22–25 indicating no dysfunction and 5–7 severe dysfunction.
Context & considerations
The 6 trials used different interventions, including weight loss plus exercise and medication for blood pressure or lipids, and included only 740 men in total. The direction is clear; individual improvement varies. The small benefit rating reflects an outcome limited to questionnaire scores, without figures for later illness prevented. These same actions have harder health outcomes elsewhere: see quitting smoking, BMI 20–25 and blood-pressure treatment. Medication is an option when prescribed by a clinician. Online supplements may contain undeclared prescription ingredients in unknown doses; see rapid-weight-loss products.
Research & references
Gupta BP, Murad MH, Clifton MM, Prokop L, Nehra A, Kopecky SL (2011). The effect of lifestyle modification and cardiovascular risk factor reduction on erectile dysfunction: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Archives of Internal Medicine, 171(20), 1797-1803. https://doi.org/10.1001/archinternmed.2011.440 ; Rosen RC, Cappelleri JC, Smith MD, Lipsky J, Peña BM (1999). Development and evaluation of an abridged, 5-item version of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) as a diagnostic tool for erectile dysfunction. International Journal of Impotence Research, 11(6), 319-326. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijir.3900472