Body Image Boosts Bawdy Boomer Behavior Dr. David Demko, gerontologist and editor AgeVenture News Service Aging America's sexual activity is sky-rocketing, and it's all due to Viagra's help with the launch sequence. A much welcomed medical miracle for men that has left women looking for their own version of "better living through chemistry". A need that the nation's pharmaceutical industry is happy to fulfill. But don't pop the champagne cork just yet. Improving the sexual chemistry between boomer couples requires more than drugs. Sexual functioning and satisfaction are influenced more by one's body image then any hormone replacement therapy, so says Dr. Patricia Barthalow Koch, associate professor of biobehavioral health and women's studies at Penn State University. "The success of Viagra for men has created a heightened interest in marketing hormones and other medications to midlife women to insure sexual functioning and satisfaction. Our results suggest that treatment, via medication, of menopausal effects for this purpose seems unwarranted in light of the findings that menopausal status did not have a significant impact on the sexual responding of the women in this study." The study ("Feeling Frumpy", The Journal of Sex Research 2005) found that, regardless of the woman's specific age, she was more likely to consider herself more attractive when she was 10 years younger whether or not she had been through menopause. Nearly 21 percent of the study participants could not think of even one attractive feature and reported an overall sense of dissatisfaction with their bodies. U.S. women are dissatisfied by the 100 percent increase in body fat encountered by age 50 years. The researchers found that the more a woman perceived herself as less attractive, the more likely she was to report a decline in sexual desire or activity over the past 10 years. The study was supported by the Tremin Research Program on Women's Health, a unit of Penn State's Population Research Institute. See related articles in the AgeVenture archives. AgeVenture Headline News AgeVenture Lifestyle Features AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com BACK TO TOP