BEIJING, April 5 (Xinhuanet) -- Near twenty percent of US teenagers have the experience of oral sex, which is 

One in five U.S. teenagers say they have engaged in oral sex, an activity that some adolescents view as not sex at all and certainly less risky than intercourse, a report released on Monday said.

considered safer by them, according to a report released on Monday.

    Published in the April issue of Pediatrics, the study surveyed 580 Northern California ninth graders and found 19.6 percent having tried oral sex, while 13.5 percent said they had vaginal sex.

    About 31 percent intended to have oral sex within the next six months, compared to 26.2 percent who intended to have vaginal sex.

    Young teens believe oral sex to be significantly less of a health risk than vaginal sex, said the report.

    "There is not much data about the chances of sexually transmitted infections due to oral sex, but there is a real risk," wrote lead author Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, a pediatrician at the University of California, San Francisco. "When teens are engaging in or considering oral sex, they need to know about methods to keep themselves safe from physical as well as emotional risks." 

    "Given the suggestion that adolescents do not view oral sex as sex and see oral sex as a way of preserving their virginity while still gaining intimacy and sexual pleasure, they are likely to interpret sexual health messages as referring to vaginal sex," she wrote. Enditem

    (Agencies)