Better Shape Equals Better Sex - Exercise Your Way to a Healthier Intimate Relationship

A recent European study has found that obese women have more difficulty finding a partner for sex than women who were not obese. Well that just stands to reason, doesn't it? I mean apart from a few "chubby chasers" people have been conditioned by advertisements and television to prefer women who are on the thin side. There are exceptions to this rule, but for the most part women in ads aren't Queen Latifah.

And for that I say shame. Most women (and most men) aren't petite, and the average dress size for a woman isn't in the single digits. Far from it. But you have to put all that aside and accept the fact that if you want a better sex life two things have to be in place. One is that you should be in a healthy weight range, but even more importantly you need to have a positive body image. It's amazing to me how people pull this body image thing off, when they are far from the norm or from the perceived standards of beauty, but some folks do.

That same study proved this in that obese men have a much easier time finding a sexual partner, and I think this is strictly because of what's going on inside their heads. For some reason men are often blind to the truth about their appearance, and because of that they have a better self image and more confidence and that is projected outwards. I don't want this article to be all about self confidence, so that's as far as I will go with that, but it should give you something to think about.

Other facts found by the study include that overweight men tend to have more issues with erectile dysfunction, and that overweight women tend to have more unplanned pregnancies. That last fact made me sit back and go "HUH?" It seems counter intuitive, but there it is.

Now here's the thing. How do they figure out what is overweight, healthy or obese? They used the body mass index scale, which I have some problems with, but it generally a fair indicator of where you stand. A BMI between 18 and 24 is considered healthy, 25 to 29 is considered overweight and 30 and over is considered obese. To calculate your BMI multiply your weight in pounds times 703 and divide that by your height in inches squared.

So for example a man 70" tall weighing 190 pounds would work out like this: 190 x 703/(70X70)= 133570/4990 = 26.7, which is "overweight." The BMI is just a general guideline, and doesn't take into consideration if your body weight is made up of fat or muscle, but it does give you something to consider.

Taking this around to where the article started, lowering your body mass index will likely have a positive impact on both your self-image and your sex life.