Study: In which region of the world is kissed the most

Kissing is nice! Romantic kisses are part of the love and sex life. But that's not the case everywhere in the world. In some cultures, kissing on the mouth is not common. A study by US scientists shows in which region of the world the kiss is made the most.

Most do not kiss their mouths
For many people, the romantic kiss is part of love or sex. Smooching is not only beautiful, but also healthy. Kissing strengthens the immune system and reduces stress, emphasize experts again and again. Even high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels can be lowered as a result. But while there are plenty of nice reasons to kiss, it is not common everywhere. In most cultures around the world, people do not kiss each other's lips, as US scientists said in a study.

Slip for the romantic-sexual kiss
Anthropologists William Jankowiak, Shelly L. Volsche and Justin R. Garcia of the Universities of Nevada and Indiana reported on their findings in the journal "American Anthropologist". The researchers themselves had not conducted any field studies, but evaluated scientific, ethnological literature and interviewed 88 colleagues on individual cultures. They found that only in 77 of the 168 considered cultures found evidence for the romantic-sexual kiss. In their study, the scientists had defined all kisses as "romantic-sexual" that resulted in "lip-to-lip contact." Kisses on the cheek, forehead or other body parts were not included in the evaluation.

Some find it nauseating
The study included cultures from almost all parts of the world, from the Maya in Central America, the Wanano in the Amazon region to the Turkana in Kenya. As the anthropologists reported, some of the peoples studied did not know about kissing. For example, interviewed Aka Pygmy men spoke of their "night work," in which they only value the frequency of the erection. In other regions, kissing is seen as disgusting.

Where is kissed the most
Especially people like to kiss in the Middle East. It is practiced in all ten cultures recorded there. In sub-Saharan Africa, smooching is less popular and is common in only four of 31 crops. People who live in the ten recorded traditional cultures of Central America are not kissed at all. In North America, kisses are common in 18 out of 33 populations studied, and in Europe, seven out of ten observed cultures smooch. According to the scientists, the image of the kiss, which is one of love and sex, is markedly Western. He may have come into vogue in these parts of the world when people had better control of their oral hygiene.

Bacterial exchange when smooching
In cultures where it is widespread, however, kissing raises the mood and makes you happy. Here, in contrast to many other peoples, hygiene considerations among lovers is no reason to renounce the beautiful ritual. Although an intense kiss can transmit 80 million bacteria, as Dutch researchers found in a previous study, this bacterial exchange helps harden us. This strengthens the immune system. Kissing thus promotes good health. (Ad)