Body Image and Sexuality After Bariatric Surgery

Overview

Sexual desire may decrease among obese individuals who feel worthless and therefore there may be behaviors that avoid sexuality. Sexuality, one of the activities of daily life, is an issue that is affected by cultural norms and rules and individuals have difficulties expressing their sexual problems comfortably. In a systematic review which is about the effect of bariatric surgery on sexuality; it was emphasized that bariatric surgery, the most widely used treatment in obesity, has positive effects upon reproductive hormones and sexual functions thanks to weight loss. In light of these information above-mentioned; the study was done to examine the correlation between body perception and sexual life before and after bariatric surgery among obese individuals.

Obese individuals who want to learn healthy life behaviors and wish to acquire and to realize behavioral changes that will help them cope with health problems are in need of training and counseling. In this process, nurses -being in close and continuous contact with individuals- play counselor role as a part of their educator roles. It is stated that nurses need to understand, empathize with and support individuals who suffer from different problems while they play this role. In presence of obesity, which is a psychophysiological condition; nurses should also consider the fact that obese individuals who face bitter criticisms and social exclusion may show low self-esteem and impaired body image due to excessive weight and therefore they should give these individuals opportunities to express their feelings as to how they perceive themselves. The studies in literature that investigated the correlation between body mass index (BMI) and self-esteem and body perception report that obese individuals demonstrate relatively lower self-esteem and body perception as compared to the normal individuals. Psychological and hormonal disorders, impaired body image and chronic diseases that develop with obesity influence sexual life negatively, too. Therefore; sexual desire may decrease among obese individuals who feel worthless and therefore there may be behaviors that avoid sexuality. Sexuality, one of the activities of daily life, is an issue that is affected by cultural norms and rules and individuals have difficulties expressing their sexual problems comfortably.