Weight gain result of vasectomy or overeating?
Question
I recently had a vasectomy, and have noticed I am gaining weight. Is this normal or is it bad eating habits? Just for the record, I don’t eat a lot of bread or starchy products. I’m a social drinker and also tend to drink a lot of tea.
Answer
Last Updated: July 24, 2013
There is no scientific evidence that vasectomy alters the physiology of the body in any way. So one could not explain weight gain in a direct cause and effect manner.
That being said there may be an indirect psychological effect occurring since the world literature on the topic of human sexuality is replete with examples of how sterilization does negatively affect marital intimacy. That is, often one or both of the spouses become disinterested in sex because its meaning has been sorely diminished with the absence of (in this case) the husband’s sperm as a “gift” to his wife during intercourse. If one’s sex life begins to wane the person’s overall lifestyle might change as well to, for example, a more sedentary existence. This affects weight.
The sperm and ova are genetic packages unique to you. Once they are absent a very special part of marital intimacy is missing. While we can accept the fact that a wife will become infertile as a consequence of menopause–it is simply part of our human experience–it is quite another matter when the cause is a disruption of a natural process willfully done by ourselves.
Dr. Polito
That being said there may be an indirect psychological effect occurring since the world literature on the topic of human sexuality is replete with examples of how sterilization does negatively affect marital intimacy. That is, often one or both of the spouses become disinterested in sex because its meaning has been sorely diminished with the absence of (in this case) the husband’s sperm as a “gift” to his wife during intercourse. If one’s sex life begins to wane the person’s overall lifestyle might change as well to, for example, a more sedentary existence. This affects weight.
The sperm and ova are genetic packages unique to you. Once they are absent a very special part of marital intimacy is missing. While we can accept the fact that a wife will become infertile as a consequence of menopause–it is simply part of our human experience–it is quite another matter when the cause is a disruption of a natural process willfully done by ourselves.
Dr. Polito
Answered By:
Gregory Polito, MD
Gregory Polito,MD, KM, Past President of CANFP, retired from a urologic practice, with a sub-specialty in vasectomy reversal
