Sexual discourse

Sexual expression is a natural part of a well-rounded life. There's nothing inherently unhealthy about it. But when does too much sex become a bad thing? We look at the consequences of excessive sexual activity and why it poses a risk to our health.

HEALTH

By Mairead DUNDAS

There’s no better place to start than in Pigalle, the red light district of Paris and home to all that is X-rated. At the beginning of June, dozens of prostitutes held a demonstration in the main square to oppose a move to treat clients of sex workers as criminals. We speak to one prostitute who explains why she believes the new law would only make an already risky job more dangerous to her health.

Next we head to one of Europe's leading centres for compulsive sexual behaviour. The Sexual Dependency Clinic in Stockholm was founded by a recovering sex addict who now helps several hundred men - and women - each year.

And finally, we ask whether men can take more responsibility in matters of contraception. In India, researchers have developed a new birth control method, known as RISUG (Reversible Inhibition of Sperm Under Guidance), that disables sperm for up to a decade.

Mairead Dundas

Presenter

13/05/2012 - HEALTH

Globesity: Weighing up the options

The French might be renowned for their slim figures, but in reality, France is catching up with the United States. One in two adults is overweight and the situation in France now resembles that of the US twenty years ago. We weigh up efforts to beat globesity – a new term that describes the growing global health problem.