Less Sex Overall, More Lesbian Sex, And Sex Among Septuagenarians Revealed In United Kingdom Survey
ByLess overall sex, more lesbian sex, and sexual activity by septuagenarians were just a few of the findings observed in the National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles. Begun in 1990, the survey tracks the sexual behavior of United Kingdom residents once ever ten years. The previous study was in 2000; the most recent analysis polled over 15,000 citizens between 2010 and 2012, Bloomberg reported.
Britons between the ages of 16 and 44 averaged less than 5 sexual encounters per month in the latest poll, down from 6.2 in 2000. Researchers blamed a poor economy and the increased role of technology for the loss of just over one sexual act per month, according to Bloomberg.
"In a recession we find an association between unemployment and a low number of sexual partners, perhaps due to low self-esteem," Professor Kaye Wellings of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, which helped execute the study, told Google.
Catherine Mercer of the Centre for Sexual Health and HIV Research, which also contributed to the study, cited changing living arrangements as a detriment to British libido.
"Although we've seen a decline in average frequency, we have to take into account that fewer people are living with their sexual partner," Mercer said at a news conference.
Sexual expression significantly decreased as individuals fall into the 65-74 age bracket, though half of all responders said they'd had sex at least once in the past year. In light of this finidng, study researchers urged health care professionals to speak with older patients about their sex life. If the process of creating this poll is any indication, open communication shouldn't be a problem.
"People are more willing to tell us about their sexual behavior than their income," said Wellings.
Sexual impotence was fairly common among all of those polled (40 percent reported a recent sexual problem), but sexual dissatisfaction was pretty rare (10 percent expressed dissatisfaction with their sex life).
"We may not be having the quantity or type of sex we see in films or porn, but what's refreshing is that nine out of 10 in the population aren't worried about their sex life," Mercer said.
Lesbian sex was way up, from 1.8 percent in 1990 to nearly 8 percent today, according to Google. British women also doubled their number of sexual partners to an average of 7.7 in 2010. Sex between men hasn't changed much over the years, according to the poll; the percentage has been around 5 percent for the last twenty years.
"In some areas of sexual behaviour we have seen a narrowing of the gender gap, but in others we have seen women overtaking men in the diversity of their behaviour," Wellings said.