While many Americans are gaining weight due to the holidays, the federal government is studying why obese women have less sex and are less likely to use protection, the Daily Caller reported on Saturday.
The Magee-Women's Research Institute allocated a grant worth roughly $500,000 from the National Institute for Health. The study looked at how often obese women have sex and why their protection rates aren't as high as those of thinner women.
"Obese girls consistently report having fewer dating and sexual experiences, but more sexual risk behaviors [i.e., condom nonuse] once they are sexually active," the study abstract described.
Some of the allocated funds will also be used to study how girls' sex lives are affected by race.
"Finally, by exploring how relationship experiences differ among African American and White adolescent girls, our approach acknowledges that cultural differences in beauty norms exist and are important," the abstract said.
The sexual relationships between non-obese and obese women and girls were compared for the study. The same grant provided $170,000 for a similar study last year examining how weight affects lesbians and gay couples.
"Findings from the few studies examining weight disparities among adults suggest that lesbian women are more likely to be overweight or obese compared to their heterosexual peers, though less is known about gay men and bisexuals," the study's abstract said.
According to a 2006 French study, single obese women were four times more likely to experience an unplanned pregnancy, even though obese women were 30 percent less likely to have had a sex partner in the last year, according to WebMD. But a person's body mass index was not associated with women's sexual dysfunction.
