Shedding extra pounds has been shown to improve your risk for many major health problems. Now a new study shows that less weight can also provide more sexual pleasure.
A recent report in JAMA revealed that in addition to improving overall health and lowering the risk of heart disease and diabetes, women who lost significant weight gained a more satisfying sex life.
In this study, 106 obese women with an average body mass index (BMI) of 44.5 (a BMI of 25 to 29.9 is overweight and ≥ 30 is obese), had bariatric surgery to lower their weight. Of the patients, 86 had gastric bypass surgery and 21 had a gastric banding procedure.
Women who lost weight also started to report both improved sexual enjoyment and sexual function…improved self-esteem and better body image
The patients have a very successful outcome with regards to weight loss. On average, the women lost 32.7% of their original body weight in the first year, and 33.5% by the end of the second year. Here is where the “weight loss with benefits” part comes in. By the end of the first year, women also started to report both improved sexual enjoyment and sexual function.
They also had improved self-esteem, felt less depressed and were more comfortable with their body image. All this even though they were still a long way from their ideal body weight.
Some of the improvement no doubt had to do with the improved levels of sex hormones that occurred following the surgery. But another part of the benefit likely came from other causes. For one, weighing less might have made the patients feel so much better so they were able to get “in the mood.”
But another reason is that the significant weight loss allowed the women to “feel better about themselves.” After all, the main sex organ is the brain. In addition, after gaining so much weight that they were twice their ideal body weight, there’s little doubt that these women were on a cycle of continued overeating and under-exercising.
Here are my four tips to help you stay well and control your weight:
1 Eat a healthy diet with at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily
2 Exercise at least 30 minutes daily, 5 days a week.
3 Get 7 hours of sleep each night. Lack of sleep increases both weight and risk of high blood pressure and diabetes
4 Lower your stress. Increased stress causes increased levels of cortisol from the adrenal glands and that stores fat in your belly.
