Shiraz E-Med J. In Press(In Press):e38573. Published online 2016 September 19. doi: 10.17795/semj38573. Research Article Investigating the Relationships Between Obesity and Sexual Function and Its Components Zahra Yazdznpanahi, 1 Zahra Beygi, 2 Marzieh Akbarzadeh, 3,* and Najaf Zare 4 1 Community Based Psychiatric Care Research Center, Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, IR Iran 2 Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, IR Iran 3 Maternal-Fetal Medicine Research Center, Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. Shiraz, IR Iran 4 Department of Biostatistics, School of Medicine, Infertility Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, IR Iran * Corresponding author: Marzieh Akbarzadeh, Maternal-Fetal Medicine Research Center, Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. Shiraz, IR Iran. Tel: +98-7116474250, Fax: +98-711647425, E-mail: akbarzadm@sums.ac.ir Received 2016 April 26; Revised 2016 August 03; Accepted 2016 August 17. Abstract Background: Proper sexual function is an important factor that affects family strength. Recently, the issue of obesity and the influ- ence of body mass index (BMI) on sexual function have received increasing research attention. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between sexual function and its domains with obesity and central obesity. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 514 women aged 15 - 45 years who presented at Shiraz healthcare centers in 2014 - 2015. Simple random sampling was performed. Data were collected by applying the female sexual function index (FSFI), weight, and meter. The questionnaire consisted of 19 questions that evaluated six domains, as follows: sexual desire, arousal, lu- brication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain. Scores < 28 on the questionnaire were considered to represent sexual dysfunction. The results were analyzed using the t-test, Fisher test, Chi-square test, and Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: The mean age of the subjects was 30.9 ± 5.8 years. The mean score for BMI in people with sexual dysfunction was 25.5 ± 4.09, which was not statistically significantly different from those without sexual dysfunction. The mean score of central obesity was 0.75 ± 0.12 in people with sexual dysfunction; this was not statistically significant in comparison to those without sexual dysfunction. Among the female sexual function domains, only sexual desire (P = 0.05) and arousal (P = 0.02) had a significant correlation with BMI. There were significant relationships between waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and sexual arousal (P = 0.04) and satisfaction (P = 0.02). Conclusions: The only significant relationships were found between sexual desire and arousal and BMI and between central obesity and sexual arousal and satisfaction. Keywords: Body Mass Index, BMI, Waist-to-Hip Ratio, WHR, Sexual Function, Women 1. Background As a new epidemic, obesity has affected the global pop- ulation. Obese people are extremely vulnerable to various diseases, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes. These diseases not only reduce their life expectancy but also undermine their quality of life (1). The rapid world- wide increase in the number of obese people has led to an obesity epidemic (2). Currently, in addition to the one to two-thirds of the world’s population that is overweight, about 10% - 30% of people are obese in the developing coun- tries (3). Nearly 66% of Americans are overweight and 32.2% are categorized as obese (4). A study carried out in Shi- raz, Iran, showed the prevalence levels of obesity and over- weight (body mass index [BMI] ≥ 25) among adults aged 25 - 55 years are 40.7% and 63.9% in men and women, re- spectively (5). The prevalence levels of obesity (BMI ≥ 30) in men and women are 10.5% and 22.5%, respectively. This study revealed an increase of 5.8% in men and 17.4% in women over a period of 14 years (5). In the recent studies, decreased sexual quality of life has been stated as a consequence of obesity (6). According to a study in the United States that included 7,243 healthy women aged 59 - 49 years, the prevalence of sexual dysfunc- tion was reported to be 56.8% (7). According to Amirkhani’s study carried out in Tehran, Iran in 2011 - 2012, the female sexual function index (FSFI) domain scores suggested that 35.9% of participants had difficulties with desire, 10.9% had problems with arousal, 96.6% had issues with lubrication, 25.2% had difficulty achieving orgasm, 8% lacked sexual satisfaction, and 14.3% experienced pain during intercourse. Finally, 5.4% had is- sues with vaginal moisture, representing the least preva- lent disorder (8). Female sexual dysfunction is a multifac- Copyright © 2016, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. 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