By Alexandra Thompson Senior Health Reporter For Mailonline
Published: 16:58 GMT, 21 February 2019 | Updated: 16:59 GMT, 21 February 2019
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From a reduced risk of early death to feeling more confident in your own skin, maintaining a healthy weight has many benefits.
But new research suggests weight-loss surgery could even give your sex life a boost.
A study of more than 2,000 morbidly-obese patients revealed they were more sexually active, driven and satisfied even five years after going under the knife.
Weight-loss surgery helps to boost an obese person's sex life, research suggests (stock)
The research was carried out by North Dakota State University and led by Dr Kristine Steffen, from the school of pharmacy.
Obesity has previously been linked to poor 'sexual quality-of-life', the authors wrote in the journal JAMA Surgery.
Although past studies have shown weight-loss surgery boosts a heavy person's sex life, these have often been small, with a short follow-up.
In the first research to look at outcomes after five years, the researchers analysed 2,036 adults who took part in The Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery-2 study at ten hospitals throughout the US.
All the patients - most of whom had a laparoscopic gastric bypass - were morbidly obese, with an average BMI approaching 46. A BMI of 30 or more is considered obese.
They were all around 47 and 78.9 per cent were female.
A laparoscopic gastric bypass, or Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), is considered the 'gold standard' for weight-loss surgery.
It involves creating a small pouch in the stomach that restricts food intake and reduces nutrient absorption.
The pouch also limits food from coming into contact with the upper or lower intestine, further preventing absorption.
The operation involves five-to-six incisions in the abdomen.
Surgeons then staple the top portion of the stomach to separate it from the bottom, creating a pouch.
A small section of the
