Weight loss induced by caloric restriction can boost sexual drive and activity of men with both obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

     The study shows that diabetic men with obesity who were given two diets specially designed for weight loss for eight weeks improved their "erectile function, sexual desire and urinary symptoms".

     The two diets used in the study included a meal replacement-based low-cal diet with only 1,000 kcal per day and a low fat, high protein diet with carbohydrates and calories reduced by 600 kcal per day.

     The study was led by Joan Khoo of Changi General Hospital in Singapore and colleagues. The paper published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, also reveals that by eight weeks of dietary interventions, consisting of the meal replacement diet and low-calorie-high protein diet, subjects reduced their weight and waist circumference by 10 and 5 percent, respectively.

     The dietary intervention using either diet improved C-reactive protein , plasma glucose, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or so called bad cholesterol, Sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), endothelial function, and International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) among others in obese men with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

     Men in the study group had better erection as the study showed that the average International Index of Erection Function increased from 13.9 to 17 while men in the control group maintained the same score. Seventeen men in the intervention group and three in the control group increased their IIEF score to 22 or higher.