How to lose weight by having sex
With more than half of the United States population on a diet, weight loss is clearly on our minds. But should you include sex in your weight management plan? We investigate.
A healthy weight is part and parcel of a healthy lifestyle. Keeping our pounds in check is good for our
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, our ticker, our bones, and our lungs. It might even keep cancer at bay, as we found out this week.
But a staggering 73.7 percent of men and 66.9 percent of women in the U.S. are overweight or obese. Perhaps it comes as no surprise, then, that 66 percent of us are currently on a diet.
Whether opting for a tried-and-tested Mediterranean diet or a relative newcomer, like intermittent fasting, as a nation we understand that our diet, our weight, and our health are intricately linked.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HSS), "physical activity is an important part of maintaining healthy weight, losing weight, and keeping extra weight off once it has been lost."
The HSS recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise every week, but less than 25 percent of adults manage to hit this target.
Where does sex fit into this?
Well, sex is good for our health, it burns calories, and it makes us happy. You are, of course, unlikely to burn as many calories between the sheets as during a heavy gym session, but exercise alone may not be the panacea for weight loss we give it credit for, according to a recent study.
So, get ready to look at the obvious and some of the more surprising reasons why sex should be firmly integrated into our plan to reach and maintain a healthy weight, regardless of whether you are a gym buff or not.
Sex is exercise
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In 2013, Prof. Antony D. Karelis — along with colleagues from the Université du Québec à Montréal in Canada — studied exactly how many calories we burn when we get our groove on.
Prof. Karelis explains in his article in the journal PLOS ONE that only a handful of studies have attempted to shine the spotlight on the physiological effects during partnered sex with human subjects. All previous studies showed an increase in heart rate.
For his study, Prof. Karelis worked with 21 heterosexual couples, aged between 18 and 35.
The couples were asked to have sex once per week for a period of 4 weeks, while wearing an activity tracker that allowed the research team to calculate how much energy they spent each time.
A sexual encounter included foreplay, intercourse, and at least one orgasm by either partner, then "ended at the couple's discretion," as the authors explain.
Here is what the team found.
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Here is what the team found.
Men burned on average 101 calories and women 69 calories when they had sex. The average intensity was higher than walking but lower than jogging, Prof. Karelis explains, putting it firmly in the category of moderate-intensity exercise.
This means that each time we have sex, it counts toward our 150 minutes of weekly exercise recommended by the HSS.
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