Excess weight and obesity are among the most vital public health issues, to the point that it’s now considered an epidemic. And yet little is known about the effects of obesity on sexuality. A French study sheds some light on this delicate subject.

A vast study was conducted on the sexual habits of 12,364 men and women living in France and aged from 18 to 69, as part of a survey titled “Context of Sexuality in France” carried out in 2006. Among participants were 3,651 women and 2,725 men of normal weight (BMI between 18.5 and 25). An additional 1,010 women and 1,488 men were overweight, with a BMI ranging between 25 and 30, while the remaining 411 women and 350 men were obese, with a BMI over 30.

The study demonstrated that:

• Obese women are 30% less likely to have had a sexual partner in the previous year. The rate of unintended pregnancies is four times greater in obese women than in women of normal weight, though the former are less likely to have been sexually active the year before. Obese women are less liable to seek advice on contraception and are five times more likely to have met their sexual partners online, to have an obese partner and are less likely to regard sex as an important part of a balanced lifestyle. Authors suggest that social pressure, low self-esteem and poor self-image are part of the explanation for these findings;

• Obese men have 70% lower odds of having had a sexual partner in the previous year and are more likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction and to contract sexually transmitted diseases than men of normal weight;   

According to the authors, “The scale of the problem and the magnitude of the effects (particularly the fourfold increase in risk of unintended pregnancy among obese women) warrants focused attention. In terms of targeting advice and care, a considerable proportion of the population is obese, is easily identified as such, and is at increased risk in terms of poorer sexual health status.”

Source:
"Sexuality and obesity, a gender perspective: results from French national random probability survey of sexual behaviours", British Medical Journal, 2010; 340: c2573"