Impotence? Yeah, Right!

"Here's the deal: men who participate in aerobic aerobic exercise that burns as little as 200 calories a day show the lowest risk for severe erectile dysfunction."

"In '97 a urologist's warning - abetted by hypefests in Time, Newsweek,, 20/20, and (most infamously) here in Bicycling - scared some male cyclists off bikes. We wuz wrong. One study shows cyclists are twice as likely to develop severe erectile dysfuntion (ED) as swimmers. But it's 4% to 2%, a statistical tie! And that 4%? Far below the risk for the general population. A 1992 survey found that 30 million American men, 30% by U.S. census figures for that year, suffer from ED.

Here's the deal: men who participate in aerobic aerobic exercise that burns as little as 200 calories a day show the lowest risk for ED. (This from an 8 year study of 600 men.) Ride boys."

Bicycling Magazine, December 2001

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Impotence and Cycling ~

reprinted from an article by Bud Hoffacker, CEO of Avocet Corporation                          November, 2000

"Over the past two years many cyclists and the bicycle industry have been concerned about a possible link between cycling and impotence. This concern started when an article about Dr. Irwin Goldstein was published in Bicycling Magazine (August 1997) and further publicized by ABC's 20/20, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and many other newspapers. The Wall Street Journal and ABC 20/20 referenced the study "AUA abstract #686" that indicated cyclists had a high level of impotence. 

This study had two major shortcomings. First, it failed to account for age, a critical factor. Second, it failed to compare impotency rates among cyclists to those of the general population. When impotence in cyclists is shown by age and compared to rates in the general population, it becomes clear that claims of higher risk of impotence for cyclists are untrue."

As this graph shows, the general population is over 250% more likely to experience some level of impotence than are cyclists. 

This graph shows that the general population is 75% more likely to suffer from severe impotence than cyclists.  

This page was last edited on 06/03/2004