Sex, calories and sexual activity: How many calories can we burn having sex?

A study from Quebec on the energy expenditure during sexual activity

But how many calories do we really burn when we make love?

Naughty researchers in Quebec have carried out a study into the calories burned under the duvet. For the study, 21 couples were fitted with a lightweight device to measure calorie expenditure.

A comparison between sex and sport

To see whether sport in the bedroom is more effective than more conventional sport such as jogging in burning calories, the guinea pigs ran on a treadmill for 30 minutes at a moderate pace. In addition, the couples were given the tough task of making love once a week in the bucolic setting of their home. According to the researchers, and understandably so, making love in a laboratory would have distorted the data. But can’t having sex for a study also skew the data?

What are the results of this study?

The results are clear (see table below) and, at the risk of displeasing you, they clearly favour jogging for calorie expenditure compared with sexual activity. You can always comfort yourself by telling yourself that Quebecers are perhaps not addicted to acrobatics under the duvet and that the intercourse time was not long enough to burn calories. On this point, you’re likely to be disappointed once again, since the average lovemaking time is 25 minutes, whereas the statistical average in France, according to Pfizer (famous for selling the little blue pill you don’t need), is 20 minutes. You can always console yourself with the fact that they gave their all for this study. It’s not all very romantic, but that’s the price of scientific research.

Sex and jogging: What you should keep in mind about energy consumption

During sex, which lasted an average of 25 minutes, the men were able to burn 101 kcal and the women 69 kcal. As for jogging for 30 minutes at a moderate pace, the calorie expenditure was 276 kcal for the men and 213 kcal for the women.

Despite these results, it is important to note that sex has other health benefits that are not purely related to calorie expenditure. For example, sex can help reduce stress, improve sleep quality and strengthen emotional intimacy between partners. It has also been shown that regular sexual activity can improve cardiovascular health and even boost the immune system.

What’s more, sex is a physical activity that most people find much more enjoyable than running or other forms of exercise. This means you’re more likely to do it regularly and consistently, which is a key aspect of any effective exercise routine. In other words, even if sex doesn’t burn as many calories as jogging, you’re more likely to do it regularly, which can make it an effective part of your overall exercise routine.

It’s also worth noting that the amount of calories burned during sex can vary considerably depending on various factors, such as the intensity of the activity and the positions used. For example, certain sexual positions may require more physical effort and therefore burn more calories.

In conclusion, although jogging can burn more calories than sex, that doesn’t mean you should give up sexual activity in favour of jogging. Sex has many other health benefits and can be an enjoyable and important part of your overall wellness routine.

The difference in metabolic expenditure between men and women can only be explained by the difference in weight.