Bigger Is Not Always Better: The Effect of Obesity on Sexual Satisfaction and Behavior of Adult Men in the United States

We use data from the Midlife Development in the United States study to examine how sexual satisfaction, frequency, and number of partners are associated with men’s body weight. We consider five body weight categories (underweight, normal, overweight, obese I, and obese II/III), and control for potential explanatory factors including demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, health, perceived stigmatization, and adolescent weight. Obese II/III men report significantly less sexual satisfaction and less frequent sexual activity, and a greater likelihood of having no sex partner compared tonormal weightmen. Physical andmental health conditionspartially account for obese II/III men’s less satisfying and less frequent sex. However, the deleterious effects of obesity are suppressed by youthful weight. Obese II/III men are more likely to have been overweight adolescents, an attribute associated with more frequent and satisfying sex in adulthood. We discuss implications for the study of masculinities, and the ways that bodies and their symbolic meanings can shape men’s sexual lives. 1 Department of Sociology and Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA Corresponding Author: Deborah Carr, Department of Sociology and Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Rutgers University, 112 Paterson Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA. Email: [email protected] Men and Masculinities 00(0) 1-26 a The Author(s) 2013 Reprints and permission: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1097184X13502651 jmm.sagepub.com at RUTGERS UNIV on September 7, 2013 jmm.sagepub.com Downloaded from