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How many calories do we burn having sex?
Now, finally a subject you’re really passionate about! How many calories do we actually burn during sex? And should making love be categorized as a “bed sport” with a high energy expenditure?
Before we can give a clear answer to this very important question, we could answer that it depends on your stamina(time) and the way you deal with the subject(rather intense? Rather calm?) Are you the active or the passive one in the couple? Are the Kâma-Sûtra positions you practice worthy of an acrobatic James Bond movie, or more like a Corsican siesta?)
Here’s a little calculator to give you a clearer idea of the calorie expenditure involved in sexual activity, based on a study carried out in Quebec by researchers inspired by real love!
A study from Québec 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 on the calories burned under the blankets. For the study, 21 couples were fitted with a lightweight device to measure calorie expenditure.
A comparison between sex and sport
To find out whether sport in the bedroom is more effective than the conventional sport such as jogging in consuming calories, the guinea pigs ran on a treadmill for 30 minutes at a moderate pace. What’s more, the couples were given the tough assignment 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 skewed the data. But can making love for a study also skew the data?
What are the results of the study?
The results are clear(see table below) and, at the risk of displeasing you, they clearly favor jogging for calorie expenditure over sexual activity. You can always take comfort in the fact that Quebecers may not be addicted to acrobatics under the blankets, and that intercourse time wasn’t 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 that 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 intercourse, which lasted an average of 25 minutes, men enjoyed a caloric expenditure of 101 kcal and women 69 kcal. When jogging for 30 minutes at a moderate pace, the caloric expenditure was 276 kcal for men and 213 kcal for women.
Despite these results, it’s important to note that sex has other health benefits that aren’t purely related to caloric expenditure. For example, sex can help reduce stress, improve sleep quality and strengthen emotional intimacy between partners. In addition, regular sexual activity has been shown to improve cardiovascular health and even boost the immune system.
What’s more, sex is a physical activity that most people find far 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, this doesn’t mean you should forgo sexual activity in favor of jogging. Sex has many other health benefits and can be an enjoyable and important part of your overall wellness routine.
Sex vs jogging
Expenditure in Kilocalories / minutes of activity
| Activity | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|
| Gender | 2,7 | 4,2 |
| Jogging | 7,1 | 9,2 |
The difference in metabolic expenditure between men and women can only be explained by the difference in weight.
And what about other activities?
