As a fat person, seeing the rumor that "making love is more efficient than running" circulating crazily on Weibo recently really made me happy for a few minutes. If this conclusion is true, it means that the laborious task of "losing weight" can be simply achieved through the act of "finding a girlfriend.".
"Sex is more efficient than running," a study from the University of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They selected 21 young couples who had regular sex lives in Montreal. They are Caucasian people aged between 18 and 35 who exercise for more than two hours a week and have at least one sexual activity. These participating volunteers are healthy and do not use any medication during sexual activity.
At the beginning of the experiment, volunteers participating in the experiment will undergo a treadmill exercise that includes three stages: first, walking slowly to warm up for 5 minutes, then jogging for 30 minutes, and finally taking a rest for 5 minutes. Subsequently, for the next month, the couples tested had sex once a week. This interval of sexual activity is defined as starting with caressing foreplay between each other and ending with one of the spouses reaching orgasm. During treadmill exercise and sexual activity, subjects wear sensors to record and compare their energy expenditure during "exercise.".
After each sexual activity, subjects will be asked to answer a questionnaire in which they will be asked to answer the following questions using three options: "low", "medium", and "high". These questions are: the effort they put into sexual activity and the treadmill, the sense of fatigue they gain after sexual activity, the energy consumption during sexual activity, and the sense of satisfaction during sexual activity The satisfaction of sexual partners in sexual activity, and whether sexual activity brings more pleasure than a treadmill. At the end of the questionnaire, participants will also be asked to estimate the number of calories consumed during this "exercise".
The experimental results show that during sexual activity, men consume an average of 101 kcal of energy, while women consume an average of 69.1 kcal, which is significantly lower than the energy consumed during treadmill exercise. Data show that men consume an average of 276 kilocalories of energy while women can consume 213 kilocalories during a 30 minute jog on a treadmill.
Due to significant individual differences in sexual behavior, the average consumption mentioned above does not fully reflect the actual situation of the subjects. In the experimental data, there are not only male subjects who consumed 306.1 kilocalories during sexual behavior, but also male subjects who consumed only 13.0 kilocalories. In female subjects, the lowest energy consumption for one-time behavior was 11.6 kcal, while the highest was 164.1 kcal.
The researchers also counted metabolic equivalents (METs) of sexual behavior, which are used to describe relative energy metabolism levels and exercise intensity. The determination of this value is based on the energy consumption during meditation, and the greater the value, the greater the intensity of exercise. Generally speaking, 4-6 METs can be considered as moderate exercise intensity, and for general activities such as playing table tennis or badminton, the exercise intensity is usually between these. For sports such as fast swimming, going upstairs, or sprinting, the intensity is between 7-10 METS.
In this study, statistics show that the average metabolic equivalent of male subjects during sexual behavior is 6.0, while that of female subjects is 5.6. In terms of maximum and minimum values, the highest values for male and female subjects can reach 9.2 and 9.6, respectively, which is equal to the exercise intensity of jogging; The lowest is only 1.4 and 1.3, lower than playing cards and eating.
In the questionnaire, only 5% of the participants said they felt that "making love takes more effort than running.". 19% of the participants admitted to feeling tired, and 7% said they felt a huge energy expenditure. At the same time, 98% of the participants admitted that the pleasure of having sex was stronger than running on a treadmill, while about 80% of the participants believed that they and their partner both enjoyed themselves during sexual activity.
Based on this, the article only proves through experiments that sex may be a form of exercise, but it does not reach the conclusion that "making love is more efficient than running," as rumored. In fact, the topic itself is interesting and there is no need to exaggerate it. The intentional or unintentional misinterpretations on the internet just make research more eye-catching. If you take hearsay as truth, you may end up complaining about your weight loss.
In fact, this seemingly "heavy mouthed" study is not the first person to eat crabs when it comes to putting sexual behavior into the laboratory. As early as 1966, scientists have been testing physiological indicators such as heart rate and blood pressure during sexual behavior in the laboratory. In the next few decades, discussions about sexual behavior and health have emerged endlessly. As far as the research discussed in this article is concerned, the research method is still one-sided, subject to too small data samples, and surveys and statistics for different ages and ethnic groups are still not perfect.
However, the conclusions of this article still have reference value for us: Perhaps sexual behavior itself is not a more efficient exercise method compared to general exercise, but it undoubtedly contributes to physical health. In a fast-paced life, sexual behavior can undoubtedly be a good adjunct. Close the door, turn off the lights, and enjoy something only you know with someone you love. "On the one hand, I have exercised my body, and on the other hand, I have improved the feelings between two people. Why not?"?