New evidence suggests that the erectile-dysfunction drug Viagra might have another use: helping burn away excess fat.

The drug, generically known as sildenafil, helped convert undesirable white fat cells to energy-burning beige fat cells in laboratory mice, researchers at the University of Bonn in Germany report in The Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.

Image Credit... Chris Gash

It was already known that mice fed Viagra became less prone to obesity when fed a high-fat diet. What was not clear was why.