Fat women more likely to have had sex
In a study of 7,000 women 92 per cent of those who were overweight had slept with a man.
The figure was only 87 per cent among those of a "normal" size.
The research, carried out by the University of Hawaii School of Medicine, contradicts previous results which suggested that larger women had a lower libido, while thinner ones were more likely to be sexually active.
It was based on the sexual histories of American women aged 15 to 44. A Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25 was chosen as the cut-off point between being normal and overweight.
Factors such as age, race, location, number of partners and frequency of sex were all taken into account.
However, size was the only criterion that affected the likelihood of a woman having slept with a man.
Dr Bliss Kaneshiro, who led the research, published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynaecology, said: "These results were unexpected and we don't really know why this is the case.
"Our analysis demonstrated that overweight women do not differ significantly in some of the measures of sexual behaviour compared to women of normal weight.
"This study indicates that all women deserve diligence in counselling on unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, regardless of their weight."
