Is weight just a number? Relationship between overweight, obesity and domains of sexual functioning among young women

Objectives: Being overweight and obesity, one of the biggest health problems in developing countries, is known to affect reproductive health problems. More and more Polish women are struggling with infertility and sexual dysfunctions. Such complications are often diagnosed to be linked directly with patients' excess weight. The main objectives of the study were to assess the influence of increased BMI (= 25.0) on sexual activity and the prevalence of sexual dysfunctions in overweight and obese women in Upper Silesia. Additionally, the occurrence of health problems existing along with obesity was analyzed. Material and methods: The study was carried out at the Department of Pregnancy Pathology, Department of Woman's Health, School of Health Sciences in Katowice of Medical University of Silesia in Poland. From 526 examined patients, 38% had normal BMI (18.5-24.9), 27% were overweight (BMI 25-29.9) and 35% were obese (BMI score = 30). The patients answered a completely self-administered questionnaire, which was divided into two parts. The first part consisted of general questions about the patient and her past medical history. The second part was the Polish version FSFI questionnaire. The results obtained from FSFI were analyzed using the STATISTICA program. Results: Statistically significant (p < 0.001) reduction in the level of satisfaction was found in the group of obese women when compared to patients with BMI < 30. Also among obese patients the occurrence of sexual dysfunction (FSFI = 26) was significantly increased (p < 0.05). A significantly higher number of patients from an average socio-economic situation suffered from sexual dysfunctions, when compared with patients from good a socio-economic group. Conclusions: Obesity and being overweight lead to more frequent sexual dysfunctions, especially through prevalence of decreased level of sexual satisfaction. Sexual activity problems may be exacerbated by increased body weight in combination with its comorbidities such as insulin resistance, PCOS, obstetric difficulties and irregular menstruation. What is more, a worse socio-economic situation of women predisposes them to the occurrence of sexual dysfunctions.