Obese feel better about sex

Here's another reason to lose weight: It might improve your sex life. A study of 187 extremely obese adults found dramatic improvements in all six items on a sexual quality-of-life questionnaire. For example, the proportion of women who did not feel sexually attractive fell from 68 percent before they began a weight loss program to 26 percent a year later.

There were similar decreases in the percentages of women who didn't want to be seen undressed, had little sexual desire, avoided sexual encounters, had difficulty with sexual performance or didn't enjoy sex.

Among men, sex improved in four of the six categories, but the improvements were less dramatic.

"There are a lot more appearance-related pressures on women," said lead researcher Martin Binks of the Duke Diet and Fitness Center in Durham, N.C.

The study was released Monday at a meeting of the Obesity Society in Vancouver, Canada.

While the results aren't a surprise, the study nevertheless is valuable, said clinical health psychologist Lyssa Menard of Northwestern Memorial Hospital's Wellness Center. "Sometimes we forget to study the obvious, " reports Chicago Sun-Times. I.L.