"Daily walk may prevent impotence"
New York, (PTI): You may be willing to walk the ends of the Earth to find true love. But when it comes to maintaining good sex, the trek is much shorter. A new study shows it takes just over three-kilometres a day.
According to the study carried out by international researchers, walking daily for three kilometres reduces the risk of erectile dysfunction in men or even reverse current impotence, particularly in those who're obese, the 'Web MD' has reported.
"Sedentary men may be able to reduce their risk of erectile dysfunction by adopting regular physical activity at a level of at least 200 calories a day, which corresponds to walking briskly for two miles," lead researcher, Katherine Esposito, of the Second University of Naples said.
The researchers came to the conclusion after analysing the effects of walking on 100 middle-aged obese men suffering from erectile dysfunction, but without heart disease, diabetes, hypertension or other conditions known to cause impotence.
Along with exercising two-hours-a-week, half of the 110 men studied were placed on a calorie-restriction diet in which their average caloric intake dropped from 2,340 to 1,950 calories daily. Their diet boosted their fibre intake and they substituted saturated fats with mono-unsaturated fats.
The other half were given general information about healthy food choices and exercise, but not placed on any specific regimen.
After two years, the men advised to lose weight, saw little improvement in either weight loss or sexual function. But the men who ate less and exercised more lost about 15 per cent of their weight. What's more, one in three were found to regain sexual function.
"In our study, about one-third of obese men with erectile dysfunction regained their sexual function after two years of adopting healthy behaviours, mainly regular exercise and reducing weight," Esposito said.
Sci. & Tech.
