While most Americans put on a few pounds for Thanksgiving, the federal government has been spending hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars researching why obese girls don’t have sex.
The National Institute for Health grant allocated $466,642 to the Magee-Women’s Research Institute to study the sexual habits of obese girls, including how often they have sex and why they are less likely to use protection when they do.
“Obese girls consistently report having fewer dating and sexual experiences, but more sexual risk behaviors (i.e., condom nonuse) once they are sexually active,” the study abstract states.
Money from the 2014 study will also be used to see how race plays into the sex life of girls.
“Finally, by exploring how relationship experiences differ among African American and White adolescent girls, our approach acknowledges that cultural differences in beauty norms exist and are important,” the abstract says.
The study will compare sexual relationships between obese girls and nonobese girls. A NIH grant spent about $170,000 on a similar study last year that examined how being lesbian or gay affects a person’s weight and health.
“Findings from the few studies examining weight disparities among adults suggest that lesbian women are more likely to be overweight or obese compared to their heterosexual peers, though less is known about gay men and bisexuals,” the study’s abstract states.
4 comments