Sex sometimes feels like an exercise, but it's unclear exactly how many calories you burn. Scientists first investigated the answer to this question in a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 1984 and suggested that sex is an activity equivalent to light-moderate exercise. Similar results were obtained in later studies.
In other words, if you want to burn a lot of calories in a short period of time; you should go to the gym, not to bed. But it's also possible to burn more calories than you can normally burn by increasing the physical intensity of intercourse. However, sex also has some benefits that go beyond achieving junkiness and losing calories.
Small-Scale Research Data
There are no large-scale studies focusing on how many calories are burned during sex. But the results from some small-scale studies allow us to make consistent estimates. In 2013, we get the most up-to-date data from a study conducted by researchers from the University of Quebec, focusing on how much energy was spent in 4 different sex positions on 21 healthy heterosexual couples.
In the study published in PLOS ONE, the researchers found that during the average session of sexual activity (about 25 minutes), which they defined as foreplay, intercourse, and orgasm of at least one partner, men burned 101 calories and women 69.1 calories. Based on an estimate of about how long each session lasts, the researchers suggest that men burn an average of 4.2 calories per minute, while women burn 3.1 calories per minute.
These rates were significantly lower for the same participants compared to exercise on a treadmill, where men burned 9.2 calories per minute and women burned 7.1 calories per minute.
Another study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2013. Similar results were obtained in this study; it was found that a man in his 30s can burn only 21 calories if he continues sex for 6 minutes.
An average intercourse— not including foreplay-lasts about 5-6 minutes. And, of course, calorie expenditure varies by person, meaning it's possible that you burn a little more or less calories than the participants in this study.
Although sex does not cause you to burn as many calories as you think, it also has significant health benefits. In addition to regular sexual intercourse, it also strengthens the immune system, causing mood improvement and a decrease in the risk of heart attack. A 2004 study published in Psychological Reports found that couples who had regular sex had higher levels of immunoglobulin A, a protective antibody, compared to the control group. But still, an increase in the number of studies on sexual intercourse and sexual health will also lead to the development of our understanding of the scientific essence of the subject.