VANCOUVER, British Columbia - As their waistlines ballooned, Carlene Wellington and her husband found that their sex life was deflating.

Both were a healthy weight when they were married 42 years ago, until she started to cook massive amounts of food. She and her husband, Gary, grew to 237 and 355 pounds, respectively. Intimacy grew difficult.

"We had about 600 pounds in our bed," she said.

Both decided to battle their bulges over a decade ago. She now weighs 153 pounds, and her tall husband a trim 235 pounds. In their loss, something improved: their sex life.

"It's just like going back 25 years," said Carlene Wellington, 62.

Their experience seems to back up a study that shows shedding even a few pounds can improve things in the bedroom.

"You reap a lot of benefit from a moderate weight loss of 10 percent," said Duke University psychologist Martin Binks, who presented the study Monday at a meeting of The Obesity Society. "It's a wonderful message. You don't have to reach some ideal weight to be healthy and happy."

It is one of the few studies to examine the mental and emotional problems that obesity can cause for intimacy, not just the physical troubles such as hormone imbalances or impotence.

"There has not been a lot of research in this area," said Dr. Susan Yanovski, director of obesity research at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Improving your sex life "would be another good reason to lose weight if you're obese."

The study involved 161 women and 26 men, average age 45, with an average body mass index of 41. (A score of 30 or above on this height-and-weight formula is considered obese).

All were enrolled in a diet program at the Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis and had lost 17.5 percent of their body weight after one year and 13 percent after two years. (They regained some of the pounds they initially shed).

They answered questions about the quality of their sex lives when the study began and every three months thereafter. The most striking improvement in attitudes was seen at three months, when they had lost about 12 percent of their initial weight.

At the outset, 68 percent of women said they felt sexually unattractive. One year into the diet, only 26 percent did. About 63 percent originally did not want to be seen undressed, but only 34 percent felt that way a year later.

Initially, 21 percent of women said they were not enjoying sex; only 11 percent said so after one year.