You may burn around 3 to 5 calories per minute during sex. However, the number of calories you burn depends on factors like session intensity, duration, and positions.
Sexual activities require physical movement of the body. To do this, your body uses calories, which are a
Many people claim that engaging in sexual activity is a great workout because it can burn a significant amount of calories.
However, there has been limited research to determine the exact number of calories burned during sex and how it compares to other forms of activity, as there are so many variables that could impact the exact number.
Still, there are many benefits to engaging in sexual activity that outweigh its possible role in burning calories.
Keep reading to learn more about how many calories you might burn during sex, how to boost your energy expenditure, and other possible benefits of having sex.
Disclaimer language
The use of binary terms such as “male” and “female” or “men” and “women” in this article reflects the language of the sources we’ve used.
Unless otherwise noted, it’s unclear whether the research we reference included participants with expansive gender identities.
It’s challenging to determine the number of calories sex burns because studies use several measurements and factors that can influence the results.
A 2022 review found that people burned an average of 100 calories during sexual activities, but no details on the duration, intensity, or positions were included.
However, some of the studies in the review may provide more insight.
For instance, a 2019 study involving 8 participants found that they burned between 53 and 190 calories in a 13-minute session, with the average being 130 calories.
In a small 2013 study in 21 heterosexual couples in their early 20s, researchers compared energy expenditure between sexual activity and walking on a treadmill at moderate intensities.
Men burned an average of 101 calories during a 24-minute sex session (4.2 calories per minute [kcal/min]), while women burned an average of 69 calories (3.1 kcal/min).
During the 30-minute moderate intensity treadmill session, men burned 276 calories (9.2 kcal/min) and women burned 213 calories (7.1 kcal/min).
These results indicate that sex doesn’t burn as many calories as moderate intensity exercise, but the number of calories burned is still notable.
However, a 2013 review suggests that sex may be less beneficial for calorie expenditure.
The authors note that a man weighing 154 pounds would burn 3.5 kcal/min during a moderate intensity session, which is similar to the rate achieved by walking 2.5 miles per hour. Given the average session is 6 minutes, this would equate to 21 calories burned.
On average, engaging in sexual activity doesn’t contribute significantly to your total daily caloric expenditure.
But making changes to some of the following factors that influence energy expenditure during sex might help increase the number of calories you burn.
Engage in a longer session
For instance, you can try to increase the duration of sexual activity. The longer you have sex, the more calories you’re likely to burn.
Some ways to increase your time in bed include:
- engaging in oral sex to stimulate the clitoris, penis, or anus
- using lubrication, especially for vaginal sex
- trying edging or the squeeze technique if you have a penis
Increase the intensity
Similarly, increasing the intensity of sexual activity or the rate of penetration during penetrative sex may also lead to a slight increase in calorie expenditure.
However, it’s important to communicate with your partner to ensure neither of you is experiencing pain.
Try different positions
Lastly, you may wish to try different sexual positions. For example, being on top in a missionary or straddling position uses more calories than being on the bottom.
Research has also found that people may burn around 10% more calories when standing than when seated or lying, so you may wish to try standing positions instead of lying or seated ones. That said, this research is not specific to sexual activity.
Besides caloric expenditure, engaging in sexual activity may have several other physical, emotional, and social health benefits. These may include:
- increasing mood, energy, and pain threshold
- decreasing feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression
- regulating hormones, such as testosterone, oxytocin, and cortisol
- improving sleep, immune system function, and sexual function
- regulating blood pressure and heart rate
- increasing quality of life
You could possibly burn 60 to 100 calories during 20 minutes of sex, but the number will depend on factors like the intensity, positions, and environment of the sex, as well as your general health condition.
No, 7 minutes of sex is unlikely to burn the same amount of calories as an average 30- to 45-minute gym session.
Being on top in a missionary or straddling position may burn more calories than when seated or lying. What’s more, standing sex may burn even more calories, though more research is needed to fully understand the best sex positions for burning calories.
The number of calories you could burn during sex depends on many factors, but a safe estimate is around 3 to 5 calories per minute.
You could increase the number of calories you burn by engaging in longer sessions or trying different positions.
While sex doesn’t have a large impact on your daily calorie expenditure, it may help support your physical, mental, and social well-being in many other ways.