Intimate Details: Your Sexual Health Guide

How Your Weight Affects Your Sexual Health

Wearing a paper gown featuring a peekaboo bum does not exactly foster self-confidence and a speak-your-mind attitude. But the thing is, we want to talk. We really, really do. In fact, 72 percent of those participating in a Women's Sexual Health Foundation survey said they would welcome their doctor initiating a discussion with them about anything related to sexual health -- and one in two of them is still waiting. Looking for an opening line? Borrow a page (or just a thought) from FITNESS's must-know guide.

What scares women more than the speculum? The scale, say experts. "I know many people are self-conscious about their weight," says Mona Saint, MD, an ob-gyn in Orange County, California. "But it's important to be open and honest with your doctor about your eating and exercise habits so you can brainstorm together ways to get your weight in check." Why is it so important? For starters, shedding pounds can...

Excess pounds can cause your body to produce extra estrogen, which may throw off your menstrual cycle, hampering your chances of conceiving. Losing just 5 to 10 percent of your body weight may help improve your ovulation and pregnancy rates.

Very overweight women are almost three times more likely to have severe PMS symptoms, such as period-related cramps, bloating, and mood swings, than those at healthy weights, a study shows. Changing hormone levels are a likely cause.

If you're carrying extra baggage, losing 8 percent of your body mass can cut leaky episodes nearly in half, according to a University of California at San Francisco study. Why? Most likely because additional fat around the belly puts pressure on your bladder.

Women entering their first trimester with a high BMI are at greater risk for developing high blood pressure and diabetes during their pregnancies and having complications during childbirth.