Sex and obesity. The two words together conjure up visions of impossibilities, like mom and dad or worse, grandma and grandpa doing the “deed”. Well guess what? Mom and dad do have sex. So do grandma and grandpa, so it should come as no surprise that physical intimacy is just as important for morbidly obese men and women.
Unfortunately being obese creates incredible obstacles that prevent people from enjoying a normal level of sexual function. Physical limitations, medical co-diseases with obesity and self image challenges all limit both the physical and mental sexual desire for people suffering with obesity.
The good news is that a recent study has shown sexual dysfunction in morbidly obese women was almost completely resolved through weight loss surgery.The study presented June 24th 2010 at the 27th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) showed that bariatric surgery not only helps people lose weight, but can also solve or significantly improve female sexual dysfunction (FSD), a prevalent and complex condition that adversely affects women’s health and quality of life.
Researchers from The Miriam Hospital’s Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center and the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University studied 54 sexually active women before and after having either laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) or Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. Women in the study had an average body mass index (BMI) of 45 before surgery, meaning they were about 100 pounds or more overweight.
Before surgery, 63% of the women (34 of the 54 in the study) had FSD as measured by the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), a standardized test used to assess sexual function. Using the same FSFI measurement, at six months after weight loss surgery, 23 of the 34 women (68%) no longer had FSD.
Nearly all women in the study reported significant improvements in all aspects of sexual function, including desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction and less or no pain during or after intercourse. Gastric bypass surgery patients lost an average of 60 percent of their excess weight while LAGB patients lost an average of almost 35 percent of their excess weight within six months.
“Sexual functioning appears to improve quickly and dramatically after bariatric surgery and it doesn’t seem to matter if a patient undergoes gastric bypass or laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding,” said Dale Bond, Ph.D., study co-author and assistant professor of psychiatry and human behaviour at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
Women who are morbidly obese have a 25 percent higher prevalence of sexual dysfunction than the general female population and the level of sexual dysfunction was significantly worse. This equates to an astounding 3 out of 5 morbidly obese women suffering some serious level of sexual dysfunctional. Statistics indicate that as many as 43% of all women are affected by some form of sexual dysfunction. This jumps to more than 60% when linked to advancing age, decreasing estrogen levels, and medical conditions including obesity, Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.
In addition to Dr. Bond, co-authors of the study were Rena R. Wing, Ph.D. and Sivamainthan Vithiananthan, MD from The Miriam Hospital and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University; Harry C. Sax, Esq. from The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University; G.D. Roye, MD and Beth A. Ryder from Rhode Island Hospital and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University; and Dieter Pohl and Jeannine Giovanni, MD from Roger Williams Hospital.
About the ASMBS
The ASMBS is the largest organization for bariatric surgeons in the world. It is a non-profit organization that works to advance the art and science of bariatric surgery and is committed to educating medical professionals and the lay public about bariatric surgery as an option for the treatment of morbid obesity, as well as the associated risks and benefits. It encourages its members to investigate and discover new advances in bariatric surgery, while maintaining a steady exchange of experiences and ideas that may lead to improved surgical outcomes for morbidly obese patients. For more information about the ASMBS, visit www.asmbs.org
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