Photo: VCG

Women who have sex at least once a month have a lower risk of entering menopause early than women with less active sex lives, scientists have found in research which they say points to a form of biological energy trade-off.

A study of data from almost 3,000 women in the US showed that those who said they had sexual activity weekly or more frequently were 28 percent less likely to have experienced menopause at any given age than women who said they had sex less than once a month.

"If a woman is not having sex, and there is no chance of pregnancy, then the body 'chooses' not to invest in ovulation, as it would be pointless," said Megan Arnot, a PhD candidate at University College London who co-led the research. 

She said the findings lend weight to the idea that the human menopause originally evolved to reduce reproductive conflict between generations of females, and to allow older women to increase their fitness through investing in grandchildren.

The research was published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

Reuters