Obese Have Poorer Sex Life, Likelier to Practice Unsafe Sex

For both men and women, obesity inflicts a wide range of challenges related to sex and reproduction, reports a team of French and British researchers.

Compared with those of normal weight, obese women were less likely to have had a sexual partner in the previous 12 months (Odds ratio [OR] 0.71, Confidence interval [CI] 0.51-0.97). During that same time period, obese men were about a third as likely to have more than one sexual partner (OR 0.31, CI 0.17-0.57).

Obese women were less likely to seek contraception from a health care provider (OR 0.37, CI 0.18-0.76 for women ages 18-29, OR 0.37, CI 0.24-0.57 for women ages 30-49). Obese women under 30 were less likely than normal-weight women to use oral contraceptives, (OR 0.34, CI 0.15-0.78), a distinction that did not appear among women ages 30-49. Overweight women were less likely to have used condoms in the past 12 months than women of normal weight.

Obese men also reported a disproportionate level of sexual issues. Obese men were more likely than normal-weight men to report erectile dysfunction (OR 2.58, CI 1.09-6.11), and those under age 30 were more likely to have had an STD.

Study data were drawn from a population-based survey of 10,170 men and women ages 18-69 living in France during 2006. Of these, 411 women and 350 men were classified as obese, having a body mass index greater than 30.

"In public health terms, the study lends a new slant to a familiar message: that obesity can harm not only health and longevity but your sex life," said British gynecologist Sandy Goldbeck-Wood in an editorial accompanying the study. "And culturally, it reminds us clinicians and researchers to look at the subjects we find difficult."

The report and editorial, "Sexuality and Obesity, a General Perspective: Results from French National Random Probability Survey of Sexual Behaviors" and "Obesity and Poor Sexual Health Outcomes," were published in the British Medical Journal (2010;340:c2573 doi:10.1136/bmj.c2573) and (2010;340:c2826 doi:10.1136/bmj.c2826).

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


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