Any sort of physical activity can help you to burn calories, but what about sex? There is a common belief that sex burns a lot of calories, but how much do you really burn during sex?

This depends on a list of variables, but according to Woman's Day, for every half an hour of sex, you typically burn upwards of 144 calories. The more intense lovemaking—go longer and make it steamier—will burn more calories, and there are a number of factors which can increase the amount burned. According to sexologist Jaiya Kinzbach, these include moaning (which can add another 18 to 30 calories) and having an orgasm, because apparently women who orgasm during sex are likely to burn more calories than those who don't.

Other statistics include research conducted by the University of Montreal which revealed that for an average sex session, which lasts about 25-minutes, men are likely to burn more calories than women. Men reportedly burn 100 calories, while women burn just 69.

While Daily Mail reports that a sex workout calculator created by Dr. Felix says that 30 minutes of sex will burn off 90 calories.

It's also interesting to know that you can burn just as much, if not more calories, by making out. Gilda Carle, Ph.D., a psychotherapist and relationship expert, told Woman's Day that the anticipation involved in making out burns more calories. "It gives way to heavy breathing, which gives way to a great calorie burn," she said—think 238 calories per half hour.

From what the research says, it's clear that there is not one clear answer as to how many calories someone burns during sex, what is clear though is that sex is the form of exercise that pretty much everyone is a fan of—even if it's not quite as effective as hitting the gym!