Weight-loss surgery doesn’t just slim a patient down, it may also result in lasting improvements to sexual function, a study suggests.

In the multicentre study including more than 2000 men and women who had problems with sexual functioning before surgery, researchers found that more than half reported improvements in their sex lives a year later.

The improved functioning continued for most of these patients through five years of follow-up, they reported in JAMA Surgery.

“Satisfaction with sexual life is improved by one year after bariatric surgery, and this improvement is maintained in both men and women by five years post-surgery,” said lead author Kristine Steffen, of the School of Pharmacy at North Dakota State University, US.