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Another excellent reason to exercise - for better erectile and sexual function in men! The researchers say that their research supports the idea that "that exercise might one day be prescribed as a treatment for erectile dysfunction".

And they're not talking about that much exercise: the highly active men in the study did a moderately intense activity such as brisk walking, cycling, or tennis at least an hour 3 to 4 times a week. Other research has suggested that erectile dysfunction can be reversed naturally by changing lifestyle factors see October 27, 2014 post Reversing Erectile Dysfunction Naturally). From Reuters:

Older men who exercise more have better erectile function

Men who exercise more have better erectile and sexual function, suggests a small study of older overweight men. The authors say their results support the idea that exercise might one day be prescribed as a treatment for erectile dysfunction.

Vidal and colleagues examined exercise habits and sexual function in 295 healthy men who were part of a research project evaluating prostate cancer risk at the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center in North Carolina. On average, the men were about 62 years old, and they were all overweight or obese. Roughly one third had diabetes or a history of chest pain or heart attacks. About three quarters were current or former smokers. Ninety-three men, or about a third of the group, were African-American.

Men were scored based on a measure known as metabolic equivalent of task (MET) hours per week and placed in four categories ranging from sedentary, with three or fewer MET hours/week, to highly active, with at least 18 MET hours/week. Most often, the men were sedentary, with 44 percent reporting little activity. But a substantial proportion, 26 percent, were highly active.Researchers also questioned the men about their sexual function, focusing on their ability to get erections and have orgasms, as well as the quality and frequency of their erections...Added up, responses could lead to a total score from 0 to 100....Men who reported more frequent exercise also reported higher sexual function scores. Half of the highly active men reported sexual function scores of at least 70, compared with a median score of about 33 for sedentary men.

SOURCE: bit.ly/1NilZYI The Journal of Sexual Medicine, online March 20, 2015.