If you needed an additional reason to lose weight: Howabout it might improve your sex life.
A study of 187 extremely obese adults found significant improvements in all six items on a sexual quality-of-life questionnaire.
According to the study, dieters who lost about 13 percent of their body weight over two years felt more sexually attractive, had greater sexual desire and reported other improvements in their sex lives, the research shows.
The findings were presented in Vancouver, Canada, at the annual scientific meeting of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity.
The proportion of women who did not feel sexually attractive fell from 68 percent before they began a weight loss program to 26 percent a year later.
There were similar decreases in the percentages of women who had difficulty with sexual performance or simply didn't enjoy sex.
The study participants were evaluated every three months for two years, the participants were weighed and filled out a questionnaire which evaluated their sexual quality of life, including feelings of sexual unattractiveness, lack of sexual desire, reluctance to be seen undressed, difficulty in sexual performance, avoidance of sexual encounters and lack of enjoyment of sexual activity.
The 161 women and 26 men were about 45 years old, on average. Their average BMI (body mass index) was nearly 41. A BMI of 30 or higher is considered obese.
Society's pressure to be thin isn't the only thing that makes sex difficult for obese people. Obesity also can alter testosterone levels in men and increase their risk of impotence.
Too much weight can contribute to back pain and depression, which in turn can reduce sex drive. And extremely obese men and women can have difficulty positioning themselves for sexual intercourse.
-- Compiled from wire reports
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