When you are too fat, your sex life suffers

Experts have said that being too fat can impair your sexual functioning.

A 2010 multi-centre study that included the department of psychiatry at Toronto General Hospital and universities in the U.S., the U.K. and Germany conclude that being overweight can cause hormonal imbalances and, if you’re trying to get pregnant, can disturb the growth of a healthy egg.

In men, the experts warn, a big belly keeps the sperm too warm, affecting their quality and motility.

“Reaching a healthy weight often improves a person’s sex life. Indeed, subjects said that when they lost excess weight, they were happier in the bedroom,” one of the researchers notes.

The researchers suggest that certain physical conditions that go along with obesity also affect sex drive, further dampening the desires of those who are overweight.

Director of Sexual Health and Male Infertility at New York University Medical Centre, Dr. Andrew McCollough, warns, “Those who have high cholesterol and insulin resistance — which is an early indicator of type 2 diabetes — may be unable to have good sexual performance. This may kill the desire, particularly in men.”

He says this is because both conditions can cause the tiny arteries in the penis to shut down, particularly when vessel-clogging fatty deposits begin to form. “Impotence or erectile dysfunction is often the result,” McCollough says.

Men are not alone in this problem, as research also shows that overweight women’s sex drive and desire are equally affected by the same problem.

A Director of Sexual Medicine at the Pelvic and Sexual Health Institute of Graduate Hospital in Philadelphia, USA, Dr. Susan Kellogg, notes that in the case of women, the width of the blood vessels leading to the clitoris are affected by the same kind of blockages that impact blood-flow to the penis.

What this tells you is that in order to enjoy rich sex life, you need to maintain healthy body weight.

The way out

• Lose a little weight in order to stimulate sex hormones

• Eat more nutritious foods, which control cholesterol and blood sugar levels

• Do physical exercise in order to get the blood flowing to the pelvic area

• Maintain positive body image