Many people fail to consider a very important factor when there’s conversation about a person’s first time getting laid: that’s often a very deliberate decision, and not merely a question of opportunity.
As it turns out, both depend heavily on genetics – if you hit your aesthetic prime in grade nine or, as a recent DNA study reveals, whether or not you could even be bothered to fornicate early on in the first place.
The Institute of Metabolic Science at the University of Cambridge studied the genes of 380,000 people to help determine the age at which you first have sex. The results were clear: there are more than just socio-cultural factors at play.
“We were able to calculate for the first time that there is a heritable component to age at first sex, and the heritability is about 25%, so one quarter nature, three quarters nurture,” said John Perry, an expert in reproductive ageing and related health conditions at Cambridge University.
Almost 40 sections of DNA were found to affect the age at which people lost their virginity, including a link between an early start to one’s sex life and risk-taking behaviour, the genetic link to wanting a large number of children, as well as genes that drive reproductive biology, such as the release of sex hormones and the age of puberty.
The study also concluded that women with red hair colour and freckled skin lost their virginity later than others, a link that could not be traced to men.
Interestingly, it also found a connection between unhealthy living habits and early sex. “Early puberty – often brought on by poor nutrition and, as a consequence, childhood obesity – has a small but direct effect on the age at which people lose their virginity, and the age they have their first child,” writes The Guardian.
This, of course, opposes the societal belief that a person’s physical attractiveness is mostly responsible for how early they’re capable of rounding third base.
So if you’re reading this and luck hasn’t quite been on your side, just know you can always blame it on your genes – no matter on which side of nature vs. nurture they’re holding you back.
[ad_bb1]