A new study has found it's wrong to believe that men think about sex every seven seconds but, of course, they do think of it more than women do, as the latter think more about food than sex, says a new study.

According to psychologists from Ohio University, the oft-repeated seven seconds statistic about men is just a myth, as it would mean men thinking about sex 8,000 times during a waking day.

The study of young adult men and women revealed that men thought about sex on an average 19 times a day. Some of the men, however, recorded 388 sexual thoughts a day. Men were also found thinking about food 18 times a day and thinking of sleep around 11 times a day.

Whereas women thought about sex 10 times a day, less than the 15 times a day they thought about food. The most any woman thought about sex in the research was 140 times a day. Researchers said the study revealed how men were more concerned, in general, about their biological needs which included sex, food and sleep

According to the study, thoughts of food and drink come up a lot more than previously realised and are often a direct result of being hungry or tired

For the study, 163 women and 120 men students were observed by putting them through a series of written tests followed by a "clicker" to tally their thoughts on food, sex or sleep. Those who, as per the tests' results, were deemed as most comfortable about their sexuality were the ones who thought about sex the most

Psychology professor Terri Fisher, leader of the study, said: "Frequency of thinking about sex is related to variables beyond one's biological sex. The study's results will appear in a future issue of the Journal of Sex Research.