Trial reportPloS one2016
Long-Term Effects of a Randomised Controlled Trial Comparing High Protein or High Carbohydrate Weight Loss Diets on Testosterone, SHBG, Erectile and Urinary Function in Overweight and Obese Men.
Trial report in PloS one, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 73 citations in OpenAlex.
- Association between improved erectile function and dietary patterns: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Asian journal of andrology · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of diet and antihyperglycemic drugs on erectile dysfunction: A systematic review.Andrology · 2023Pooled it
- Low-carbohydrate versus balanced-carbohydrate diets for reducing weight and cardiovascular risk.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Circulating sex hormone binding globulin levels are modified with intensive lifestyle intervention, but their changes did not independently predict diabetes risk in the Diabetes Prevention Program.BMJ open diabetes research & care · 2020Trial
- Dietary patterns and testosterone balance: a review of clinical data and perspectives.Journal of advanced research · 2026Review
- Associations Among Obesity, Dietary Habits, and Erectile Dysfunction in Cardiac Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Effects of Lifestyle, Diet, and Body Composition on Free Testosterone and Cortisol Levels in Young Men.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Effects of weight loss on testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin, adiposity, and insulin sensitivity in women and men.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2025Article
- Influence of Mediterranean Diet on Sexual Function in People with Metabolic Syndrome: A Narrative Review.Nutrients · 2024Review
- Management of male obesity-related secondary hypogonadism: A clinical update.World journal of experimental medicine · 2024Review
- Review
- Male infertility.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2023Review
- Switching from high-fat diet to normal diet ameliorate BTB integrity and improve fertility potential in obese male mice.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- The British Society for Sexual Medicine Guidelines on Male Adult Testosterone Deficiency, with Statements for Practice.The world journal of men's health · 2023Review
- Obesity, type 2 diabetes, and testosterone in ageing men.Reviews in endocrine & metabolic disorders · 2022Review
- Beneficial Effects of the Very-Low-Calorie Ketogenic Diet on the Symptoms of Male Accessory Gland Inflammation.Nutrients · 2022Article
- Obesity definition, diagnosis, bias, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and telehealth: An Obesity Medicine Association (OMA) Clinical Practice Statement (CPS) 2022.Obesity pillars · 2022Article
- Investigating the association of testosterone with survival in men and women using a Mendelian randomization study in the UK Biobank.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- The association of popular diets and erectile function among men in the United States.International journal of impotence research · 2021Article
- The association between plant-based diet and erectile dysfunction in Chinese men.Basic and clinical andrology · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionObesity is associated with reduced testosterone and worsened erectile and sexual function in men. Weight loss improves these outcomes. High protein diets potentially offer anthropometric and metabolic benefits, but their effects on reproductive and sexual outcomes is not known.
aimTo examine the long-term effects of weight loss with a higher protein or carbohydrate diet on testosterone, sex hormone binding globulin, erectile dysfunction, lower urinary tract symptoms and sexual desire in overweight and obese men.
methodsOne-hundred and eighteen overweight or obese men (body mass index 27-40 kg/m2, age 20-65 years) were randomly assigned to an energy restricted higher protein low fat (35% protein, 40% carbohydrate, 25% fat; n = 57) or higher carbohydrate low fat diet (17% protein, 58% carbohydrate, 25% fat, n = 61) diet for 52 weeks (12 weeks weight loss, 40 weeks weight maintenance). Primary outcomes were serum total testosterone, sex hormone binding globulin and calculated free testosterone. Secondary outcomes were erectile function as assessed by the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) (total score and erectile function domain), lower urinary tract symptoms and sexual desire.
resultsTotal testosterone, sex hormone binding globulin and free testosterone increased (P<0.001) and the total IIEF increased (P = 0.017) with no differences between diets (P≥0.244). Increases in testosterone (P = 0.037) and sex hormone binding globulin (P<0.001) and improvements in the total IIEF (P = 0.041) occurred from weeks 0-12 with a further increase in testosterone from week 12-52 (P = 0.002). Increases in free testosterone occurred from week 12-52 (p = 0.002). The IIEF erectile functon domain, lower urinary tract symptoms and sexual desire did not change in either group (P≥0.126).
conclusionsIn overweight and obese men, weight loss with both high protein and carbohydrate diets improve testosterone, sex hormone binding globulin and overall sexual function.
trial registrationAnzctr.org.au ACTRN12606000002583.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.