—Curious

According to recent studies, the average 175-pound person can expect to use somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 - 200 calories during 30 - 45 minutes of sexual intercourse. Of course, this estimate will vary by amount of movement and vigor, as well as by type of sex (i.e., oral and anal sex) being had. Another source, Leslee Welch's A Handbook for the Carnally Curious, states that 100 calories are burned during intercourse.

It seems that you will not utilize as many calories as you would on the treadmill.

These caloric expenditure figures are probably in the ballpark range, since the energy used during sex differs from person to person and from session to session. Duration, intensity, effort, frequency, and position probably influence the number of calories expended during sex, as well as during any other physical activity. This may not answer your question adequately, but it does point out the difficulty of measuring an activity that cannot be standardized easily.

The issues to consider with these numbers are how scientifically valid these sex-ercise studies or sources are. The bottom line is that sex probably does not expend as many calories per unit of time as running, cycling, or rollerblading, but this will not likely stop people from continuing to have sex, right? Just make sure that sex is not your main source of physical fitness. Instead, stick with a regular exercise program, if you don't already (who knows — this may reward you with possibly improved sexual stamina and result in some extra energy expenditure, too!).

Alice

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