Nowadays, many men realize that smoking and being obese increases their risk of developing heart disease. What they may not know is that obesity and smoking can also strain a man's love life. CNN.com reports that having a healthy heart is one of the keys to enjoying a satisfying sex life.

Dr. Eric B. Rimm of the Harvard School of Public Health and his colleagues recently published a study in the Journal of Urology providing evidence that Erectile Dysfunction and poor heart health often go hand in hand. Smoking and obesity are key contributors to poor heart health. Luckily, men whose erectile dysfunction is related to smoking and obesity can make lifestyle choices that will improve their heart health and potentially lead to a better sex life.

Dr. Rimm and his colleagues followed 22,000 men for 14 years. During that time, the researchers found that men who were obese at the beginning of the study had a 90 percent greater chance of developing erectile dysfunction than their thinner counterparts. Likewise, men who smoked were 50 percent more likely to become impotent than those who did not smoke. Conversely, men who exercised regularly were 30 percent less likely to develop erectile dysfunction than those who weren't in shape.

The researchers are hoping this new information may encourage men to adopt healthier lifestyles in an effort to avoid heart disease and the erectile dysfunction that may come along with it. While it may be easy for men to dismiss the seemingly distant risks of developing heart disease, the risk of erectile dysfunction may be much harder to ignore, especially since more men are becoming obese while they're young.

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