For Women, Does Weight Loss Trump Romance?

Food or sex? Most of us would like both but according to a recent study from Atkins, many women think about food more than sex. The diet company conducted a survey of 1,290 women in the United Kingdom and 54% responded saying they think about food more than they think about sex. Additionally, 37% of respondents said they think about food and dieting more than they think about their romantic partner.

Even more surprising was data that showed about 25% of those surveyed said they think dieting is more important than their relationship. Those same women admitted they put more effort into trying to lose weight than they did to maintain their romantic relationship(s).

Atkins Chief Nutritionist Linda O’Byrne told Australian Food News that a sensible diet should “become part of your everyday diet and not something your are constantly thinking about. Dieting should never become an obsession; this is not healthy as it can be counter-productive.”

When it comes to choosing food over sex, here’s an opinion: food always tastes good, but for women, sex can be bad. The difference between men and women is that for men, even bad sex usually results in an orgasm. For women, bad sex usually means 1) no orgasm and 2) time lost. This is not all the fault of the woman’s partner. Part of it is on the woman for not determining what works for her sexually, which is partially to blame for women’s sexual pleasure remaining a taboo topic. Here’s to changing society’s perception of the path to the female O and in turn possibly encouraging less comfort eating!