SAFER SEX blog

Link: Four percent of American adults never had sex - Yahoo! Canada News

Fri Jun 22, 12:52 PM

MIAMI (AFP) - Four percent of US adults have never had sex in their lives, and the figure climbs to 12 percent in the case of Mexican-Americans, according to an official survey out on Friday.

“Approximately 96 percent of adults age 20-59 years have had sex, with the age group 20-29 having the lowest percent (91 percent),” the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a report.

Eighty-eight percent of Mexican-American adults have had sex, a lower percentage than any other ethnic group.

The report also said 16 percent of adults first had sex before the age of 15, while 15 percent abstained from sex until age 21 or older.

The data was compiled between 1999 and 2002, the Atlanta-based CDC said.

Link: Circumcised men are just as sensitive

Last Updated: Friday, July 27, 2007 | 3:16 PM ET
CBC News

Science has entered the contentious age-old debate about sexual sensitivity among circumcised versus uncircumcised men. And the news is good for those without foreskins.

A small study of 40 men, half of them circumcised, was carried out by Montreal’s McGill University. The men, aged 18-45, were first assessed for sensitivity when not sexually aroused.

The study contradicts the
widely-held belief that circumcised
men experience less sexual
pleasure than those who are
uncircumcised. (CBC)

The two groups were then shown erotic films and their arousal was tracked through thermal imaging of the penis and surface skin readings. The two readings were then charted.

Various stimuli were applied to the penile shaft, the glans and the underside of the forearm to develop a pain threshold profile of the individual during these arousal periods. The findings were then compared between the two study groups.

The study found no difference in sensitivity to touch or pain between the two groups, debunking the widely-held belief that uncircumcised men experience greater sexual pleasure.

“This study suggests that preconceptions of penile sensory differences between circumcised and uncircumcised men may be unfounded,” said Kimberley Payne, a principal author of the study, in a release.

The Canadian Institute for Health Information reports that in 1996/1997, circumcision was performed as a primary procedure on about 20 per cent of Canadian male newborns. But by 2005, this had declined to 9.2 per cent.

Link: Stupidity Simplified: Tips For Enhancing Your Sexual Enjoyment

There are many things you can to do make sex more enjoyable and fun. As always, only use what feels comfortable for you:

Become more present in your body, and feel your body’s sensations.
You can do this by doing body awareness exercises, breathing awareness exercises, meditation, relaxing, walking, dancing, massage, etc. The more present you are overall, the more present you will be during sex.

Let your body move the way it wants to.
There is no right or wrong way to move. In allowing yourself to move freely, you will find yourself feeling more pleasure. Your body knows what it wants and enjoys.

Pay attention to your breathing while making love.
Learn to stay with or focus on the natural rhythm of your breath. Try letting your breath all the way out of your body. On your out-breath, let out a sound. Practice deep belly breathing.

Make love to yourself without rushing or being mechanical.
Discover what is pleasurable to your whole body. Then ask for that when you make love.

Focus on the feelings of pleasure in your body while you make love.

Let go of any expectations you have about sex.
Just let yourself (and your partner) be. You don’t have to act or be any way. Just be the way that feels most right to you.

Accept yourself where you are at — there are no “shoulds”
Pushing yourself to be where you’re not won’t get you there any quicker — and may even make things harder for you.

Read the rest of this entry »

Link: U.S. survey tracks sex behavior, illegal drug use - CNN.com

POSTED: 11:05 p.m. EDT, June 22, 2007

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Government survey tracks sexual behavior, illegal drug use among U.S. adults
• 29 percent of men report having 15 or more female sexual partners in a lifetime
• 9 percent of women reported having sex with 15 or more men
• About 11 percent of never-married adults remained chaste

NEW YORK (AP) — It’s a question that often prompts a boastful answer or a bashful one: How many sex partners have you had?

Now the federal government says it has authoritative statistics, documenting that men are far more likely to play the field than women.

A new nationwide survey, using high-tech methods to solicit candid answers on sexual activity and illegal drug use, finds that 29 percent of American men report having 15 or more female sexual partners in a lifetime, while only 9 percent of women report having sex with 15 or more men.

The median number of lifetime female sexual partners for men was seven; the median number of male partners for women was four.

The survey, released Friday, is based on data collected from 1999 to 2002 for the National Center for Health Statistics, a branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In previous versions of this survey, participants were asked questions in face-to-face interviews. The CDC believes that caused underreporting of behaviors which might be viewed negatively, although the new survey did not provide any comparative results from earlier reports.

This time, data was gathered from 6,237 adults, aged 20 to 59, in what are called computer-assisted self-interviews — a method designed to provide complete privacy and produce more honest answers.

“This is the first time we’ve used this technique,” said Dr. Kathryn Porter, who served as medical officer for the survey. “The participants have a headset on, they hear questions, they touch the screen with responses. There’s no one else in the room and they can take as long as they want.”

Porter said the findings would provide grist for further studies, notably on the prevalence and patterns of sexually transmitted diseases.

Ammunition for social debate

Though the survey results were presented by the CDC without subjective comment, they will likely provide ammunition to various parties in the ongoing national debate over sex education, cohabitation and access to birth control.

Many of the conservative groups aligned with the Bush administration on social issues promote the goal of sexual abstinence until marriage. The survey found about 11 percent of never-married adults had remained chaste.

Among the other findings:

• About 96 percent of U.S. adults have had sex.
• Sixteen percent of adults first had sex before age 15, while 15 percent abstained from sex until at least age 21.
• The proportion of adults who first had sex before age 15 was highest for non-Hispanic blacks (28 percent) compared to 14 percent for both Mexican-Americans and non-Hispanic whites.
• Six percent of blacks abstained from sex until age 21 or older, fewer than Mexican-Americans (17 percent) or non-Hispanic whites (15 percent).
• Black men and women were more likely to report having 15 or more partners in a lifetime (46 percent and 13 percent, respectively) than other racial or ethnic groups.
• Seventeen percent of men and 10 percent of women reported having two or more sexual partners in the past year.
• Twenty-five percent of women and 17 percent of men reported having no more than one partner of the other sex in their lifetime.
• Twenty-six percent of men and 17 percent of women have tried cocaine or other street drugs (not including marijuana) at some time in their life. Seven percent of men and 4 percent of women had done so within the past 12 months.
• Non-Hispanic whites had a higher percentage of ever using cocaine or street drugs (23.5 percent) than blacks (18 percent) or Mexican-Americans (16 percent).
• Adults who were married or had more than a high school education were less likely to use street drugs than others.

The survey, formally titled the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, did not include homeless people, prison inmates or other institutionalized adults.

The questions about numbers of sexual partners specified heterosexual relationships, and thus the survey did not measure the extent of gay or lesbian sexual partnerships. However, Porter said there was no such specificity in the questions about ever having had sex or about the age of first sexual activity, so answers to those could have referred to straight or gay sex.

Link: Report finds fewer teens having intercourse, more using condoms - CNN.com

updated 4:35 p.m. EDT, Fri July 13, 2007

In 2005, 47 percent of high school students reported
having sexual intercourse, down from 54 percent in 1991.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fewer high school students are having sex these days, and more are using condoms. The teen birth rate has hit a record low.

More young people are finishing high school, too, and more little kids are being read to, according to the latest government snapshot on the well-being of the nation’s children. It’s good news on a number of key wellness indicators, experts said of the report being released Friday.

“The implications for the population are quite positive in terms of their health and their well-being,” said Edward Sondik, director of the National Center for Health Statistics. “The lower figure on teens having sex means the risk of sexually transmitted diseases is lower.”

In 2005, 47 percent of high school students — 6.7 million — reported having had sexual intercourse, down from 54 percent in 1991. The rate of those who reported having had sex has remained the same since 2003.

Of those who had sex during a three-month period in 2005, 63 percent — about 3 million — used condoms. That’s up from 46 percent in 1991.

The teen birth rate, the report said, was 21 per 1,000 young women ages 15-17 in 2005 — an all-time low. It was down from 39 births per 1,000 teens in 1991.

“This is very good news,” said Sondik. “Young teen mothers and their babies are at a greater risk of both immediate and long-term difficulties.”

The birth rate in the 15-19 age group was 40 per 1,000 in 2005, also down sharply from the previous decade.

Education campaigns that started years ago are having a significant effect, said James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth, a Washington-based nonprofit group that focuses on prevention of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

“I think the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the efforts in the ’80s and ’90s had a lot to do with that,” Wagoner said of the improved numbers on teen sex, condoms and adolescent births.

“We need to encourage young teens to delay sexual initiation and we need to make sure they get all the information they need about condoms and birth control,” he said.

The report was compiled from statistics and studies at 22 federal agencies, and covered 38 key indicators, including infant mortality, academic achievement rates and the number of children living in poverty.

Other highlights:

• The percentage of children covered by health insurance decreased slightly. In 2005, 89 percent of children had health insurance coverage at some point during the year, down from 90 percent the previous year.
• The percentage of low birthweight infants (born weighing less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces) increased. It was 8.2 percent in 2005, up from 8.1 percent in 2004.
• More youngsters are getting reading time. Sixty percent of children ages 3-5 (and not in kindergarten) were read to daily by a family member in 2005, up from 53 percent in 1993.
• The percentage of children who had at least one parent working year round and full-time increased to 78.3 percent in 2005, up from 77.6 percent the previous year.
• More young people are completing high school. In 2005, 88 percent of young adults had finished high school — up from 84 percent in 1980.

The report was released by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics — a consortium of federal agencies that includes the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the Census Bureau and the Administration for Children and Families.

Link: Chlamydia common among young women and men: Scientific American

July 16, 2007
SCIENCE NEWS

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A large number of people between the ages of 14 and 39 years have chlamydia, a sexually transmitted disease, a new report indicates, while gonorrhea, another STD, is less prevalent.

Based on 6,632 people ages 14 to 39 tested for chlamydia and gonorrhea between 1999 and 2002, researchers estimate that 2.2 percent of Americans in this age range — a little more than 2 out of every 100 — have Chlamydia infection and that 0.24 percent — fewer than 1 out of every 400 - have gonorrhea infection.

Sexually active adolescents, especially girls, bear the brunt of chlamydia and gonorrhea infection, according to Dr. S. Deblina Datta and colleagues from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta. Almost half of those found to have gonorrhea also had chlamydia.

Young women, who are targeted for chlamydia screening and are at risk for long-term effects of the infection, had an “unacceptably high burden” of chlamydia infection, Datta and colleagues report in the Annals of Internal Medicine, released today.

The data also show roughly equal prevalence of chlamydia and gonorrhea between males and females and disproportionately high rates among non-Hispanic black persons.

Both chlamydia and gonorrhea infection can cause symptoms such as discharge from the vagina or penis, pain with urination, abdominal pain, or no symptoms at all. In women, chlamydia and gonorrhea can lead to infertility. These STDs can also lead to premature birth, low birth weight and serious infections in newborns.

Antibiotic treatment is needed to clear up these STDs, avoid spreading them to partners, and ward off complications.

The current findings, the CDC team concludes, “support current recommendations” to screen sexually active girls and young women age 25 years or younger for chlamydia, to retest those with chlamydia, and to co-treat individuals with gonorrhea for chlamydia.

“Despite the considerable prevalence of chlamydia in males, the value of screening males needs to be better defined,” they note.

SOURCE: Annals of Internal Medicine, July 17, 2007.