Exercise Linked to Greater Sexual Function in Men

Men interested in improving sexual function may want to swap out those little blue pills for a set of dumbbells. Research presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Urological Association (2010; 183 [4], Supplement, e578) suggests that men who exercise regularly experience greater sexual function than those who do not. To determine the results, the researchers evaluated two surveys completed by 178 apparently healthy men. One survey included questions on sexual function; the other focused on current exercise behavior, such as frequency and duration of mild-, moderate- and high-intensity exercise during a typical week. “After adjusting for age, race, BMI, heart disease, diabetes and depression, [we found that] men who reported more MET hours per week of exercise had significantly higher sexual function scores,” the authors concluded. No specifics on types of exercise were provided. The authors noted that more research is necessary to understand “the molecular mechanisms through which exercise affects sexual function.”