Stupid Scientific Studies: Old People Have Less Sex

Well, duh: A new study reports that sexual activity declines as people age, and that people over 70 generally retire from sex.  From the story:

The average person’s sex life ends by the age of 70, according to a report published today in the British Medical Journal.  Men age 30 have an average of 35 years of sexually active life remaining, compared with 31 years for women, researchers at the University of Chicago’s department of obstetrics and gynecology estimated after reviewing a survey of 3,000 people. A separate survey of older people showed that by 55, men have an average sexual life expectancy of 15 years and women can expect 10 more years, the researchers found.

People in very good or excellent health were almost twice as likely to be interested in sex as people in poorer health, according to the study. Men lost more years of sexual activity as a result of poor health than women, the researchers said. That may motivate men to pursue healthier lifestyles, they said.

They needed a study to tell us that?  Anyone who pays any attention to the rhythm of life knows that sexual activity declines with age, and more particularly, with ill health.  Besides, so what?  And here’s the kicker for me:

The study was funded by the University of Chicago and the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

We live in lean times. Shouldn’t we restrict our limited puplic resources to funding scientific inquiries into truly important things?  Perhaps they should do a study on how much of the people’s money is wasted on stupid scientific studies.