Good health apparently extends more than your time on earth; it can keep your sex life purring deeper into older age. The British Medical Journal publishes research indicating that people who are in good health are almost twice as likely to be
interested in sex compared to those in poor health. Reporting on the study, Web MD tells us that the researchers, who used information gathered from more than 6,000 men and women in midlife and
later life, estimate that at age 55, the average sexually active
life expectancy is 15 years for men and 10.6 years for women. The study found that men have a longer sexually active life
expectancy and that most sexually active men report a good quality sex life. In
contrast, only about half of sexually active women reported a good quality sex
life. Web MD reports that the study also found that
- Older men were three times as likely to be interested in sex as older women
(62% vs. 21%). - People in very good health were 1.5 to 1.8 times more likely to report an
interest in sex than those in poorer health. - Among those who were sexually active, good health was also associated with
more frequent sex (once or more weekly) in men and with a good-quality sex life
in men and women.