Does masturbation lead to weight loss?

Dear Doctor,
I have a friend who is very fat and considers masturbation as the only means of slimming.
Is it true that masturbation can make one lose weight?
Does it mean that if you are skinny you cannot grow fat because of masturbation? What are the other side-effects of masturbation?

TD, Kampala.

Dear TD,
No, it is not true that masturbation helps one to lose weight. It is also not true that a skinny person would remain skinny because of masturbation.
From the medical point of view, masturbation is a normal sexual practice.
Almost all people (men and women) masturbate or have ever masturbated. They start at around puberty, because that is when the normal urge to have sex comes.
They find that when they stimulate the genital organs, they can ejaculate and that gives pleasure and relieves sexual tension.
Some people masturbate even when they have regular sexual intercourse. Its advantages include; You will not get a sexually transmitted disease, like HIV/AIDS.
In conditions where one cannot have sexual intercourse, such as in schools or prisons, it may be the only way of relieving sexual tension.
The major problem people (especially youths) have with masturbation is associating it with guilt.
Some people think it is bad and feel guilty about relieving their normal sexual tension.
There are also many myths about it, which though not true, create some anxiety.
One has to understand that the urge to have sex is a normal drive. Masturbation is a safe way of satisfying that drive. It is not dirty or diseased. It is normal.
However, consider this against the background of your religion.

Dr Paul Semugoma