Correspondence DOI:10.37072/JCS.2020.03.04

Bogdan MARINESCU, Anca ARĂMESCU
CORRESPONDENCE
Answers given by: * Acad. Prof. Dr. Bogdan Marinescu and ** Dr. Anca Arămescu
Department of Infertility, Clinical Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology “Prof. Dr. Panait Sârbu”, (Giuleşti Maternity Hospital), MD, Ph.D.; *Department of Internal Medicine and Diabetes – Nutrition Diseases, Giurgiu County Emergency Hospital /MD

Why is it said that obese men have a low erectile potential? How can you explain that obese men have reduced sexual activity? Answer: Normally, in men, the highest serum testosterone level is experienced around the age of 20-30. In the man with overweight (obesity), which generally appears after the age of 35, the testosterone serum titer starts to drop slightly. Testosterone is metabolized by the aromatase, an enzyme that converts it to estriol. Also, in obese men the level of “sex hormone-binding globulin” is low, so the impairment of the blood transport of testosterone further decreases its serum level. In obese men, the adipose tissue on the lower abdomen covers 2-4 centimeters of the length of the penis in the fat of the pubic region. In this situation, the visualization of the penis by the man and the woman reduces the partner’s state of excitation through the brain inhibition process determined by the visual information transmitted through the optic nerve pathway, significantly lowering the libido, which is also influenced negatively by the decrease of testosterone by the aforementioned process. At maturity, the desire to have sexual intercourse is directly correlated with the level of testosterone in the blood.