Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Some Doctors Worried Riding Bicycle May be Hazardous to Your Sex Life

Aired October 15, 2002 - 08:35   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Riding a bicycle is certainly good exercise and good for your health, but some doctors are worried it might be hazardous to your sex life. Elizabeth Cohen now live from the CNN Center.
Elizabeth, good morning to you.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.

HEMMER: Before we get to the bikes, some news, too, about an unusual campaign, the group Breast Cancer Action. What's happening on that story?

COHEN: Right. It is unusual. You know, bill. I'm sure you've seen it. You walk around in a store and you see pink ribbons everywhere. A lot of have done what's called pink marketing, trying to encourage people to buy the products because some of the money will go to breast cancer causes. Breast cancer action is saying consumers need to ask how much of the money is going to breast cancer causes. They point to a couple of different products that they say illustrates that not enough money is going to the actual cause.

For example, they point out that Eureka vacuums, that you buy a -- let's say it's approximately a $200 vacuum, and only $1 will actually go toward breast cancer research. You can see on their Web site there, the pink ribbon. Also American Express is advertising that when people make purchases with the credit card, that some of that money will go to breast cancer research also. This is their Web site, when in fact, when you read the fine print, it's one penny per purchase.

And I have here with me on the set another product, and this is Yoplait yogurt, and you can see on the lid that it's pink, and I hope you can see that it has a ribbon there, and when you buy this product, 10 cents will go to breast cancer causes. And what breast cancer action is saying, is, you know what? These may be all good and fine, but consumers need to be asking, they need to be putting pressure on for there to be more money given to breast cancer research given the goodwill that these companies get by using the pink ribbon.

The companies on the other hand say, look, we're giving some money. It's actually, they say, quite a bit of money when you add it up, For example, Yoplait at the end of this year, from there campaign will have given $1.5 million to breast cancer research. And so they say, well, maybe it's not a huge percentage of the actual purchase price, but when you put it together, it's a lot of money. HEMMER: That's news for women. How about for men? Dangerous for your health if you ride a bike? How so?

COHEN: Well, that's what some doctors are saying. There have been now been several studies that say, if you look at how a man rides a bike often, they're leaning forward, they're in these little seats that can really get you. What they're saying is many men who ride bikes and who spend many hours riding bikes experience genital numbness, and there actually have been studies that show they can increase the chances of a man actually having problems with impotence.

And there's a study that's come out from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, and what it found was that cops, policemen who rode bikes for a living as part of their job, that they had fewer erections than policemen who did not ride bikes. And so the what the doctors are saying is, you know what, we need to think about these seats, there must be a better way to design them, because they can really make a difference in a man's sexual health.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. IRWIN GOLDSTEIN, BOSTON UNIV.: When you sit on a bicycle seat, you rest your 170-pound torso directly on the arteries. It absolutely makes no sense to take an organ of the human body and compress the arterial bloodflow to it for any period of time. There is no logical way you could tell me that that's a good thing to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: Now, Dr. Goldstein and others say you don't have to be a policeman who spends eight hours a day on a bike. It's even if you just ride it occasionally that it can cause problems. Bike manufacturers think this is all, well, a little bit crazy. They say that, yes, bikes can cause some problems, but it's quite rare and the problems would go away if men would just buy bikes that would fit properly and put the seat at the right height -- Bill.

HEMMER: I bet they do. What are men supposed to do? Get off the bike and not ride? Or what's the recommendation?

COHEN: Well, the recommendation is, just as the bike manufacturers say, make sure that your bike sits properly, but also there are some new seats that have come out in recent years as a result of these studies that are supposed to put less pressure in that area, that are supposed to be better for men, and you can see some here. These are at a bike specialty shop. So you have to look around for them, but there are these seats that have been designed to put less pressure that area.

HEMMER: Got it. Elizabeth, thank you. Elizabeth Cohen, medical correspondent at the CNN Center.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Your Sex Life>


Aired October 15, 2002 - 08:35   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Riding a bicycle is certainly good exercise and good for your health, but some doctors are worried it might be hazardous to your sex life. Elizabeth Cohen now live from the CNN Center.
Elizabeth, good morning to you.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.

HEMMER: Before we get to the bikes, some news, too, about an unusual campaign, the group Breast Cancer Action. What's happening on that story?

COHEN: Right. It is unusual. You know, bill. I'm sure you've seen it. You walk around in a store and you see pink ribbons everywhere. A lot of have done what's called pink marketing, trying to encourage people to buy the products because some of the money will go to breast cancer causes. Breast cancer action is saying consumers need to ask how much of the money is going to breast cancer causes. They point to a couple of different products that they say illustrates that not enough money is going to the actual cause.

For example, they point out that Eureka vacuums, that you buy a -- let's say it's approximately a $200 vacuum, and only $1 will actually go toward breast cancer research. You can see on their Web site there, the pink ribbon. Also American Express is advertising that when people make purchases with the credit card, that some of that money will go to breast cancer research also. This is their Web site, when in fact, when you read the fine print, it's one penny per purchase.

And I have here with me on the set another product, and this is Yoplait yogurt, and you can see on the lid that it's pink, and I hope you can see that it has a ribbon there, and when you buy this product, 10 cents will go to breast cancer causes. And what breast cancer action is saying, is, you know what? These may be all good and fine, but consumers need to be asking, they need to be putting pressure on for there to be more money given to breast cancer research given the goodwill that these companies get by using the pink ribbon.

The companies on the other hand say, look, we're giving some money. It's actually, they say, quite a bit of money when you add it up, For example, Yoplait at the end of this year, from there campaign will have given $1.5 million to breast cancer research. And so they say, well, maybe it's not a huge percentage of the actual purchase price, but when you put it together, it's a lot of money. HEMMER: That's news for women. How about for men? Dangerous for your health if you ride a bike? How so?

COHEN: Well, that's what some doctors are saying. There have been now been several studies that say, if you look at how a man rides a bike often, they're leaning forward, they're in these little seats that can really get you. What they're saying is many men who ride bikes and who spend many hours riding bikes experience genital numbness, and there actually have been studies that show they can increase the chances of a man actually having problems with impotence.

And there's a study that's come out from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, and what it found was that cops, policemen who rode bikes for a living as part of their job, that they had fewer erections than policemen who did not ride bikes. And so the what the doctors are saying is, you know what, we need to think about these seats, there must be a better way to design them, because they can really make a difference in a man's sexual health.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. IRWIN GOLDSTEIN, BOSTON UNIV.: When you sit on a bicycle seat, you rest your 170-pound torso directly on the arteries. It absolutely makes no sense to take an organ of the human body and compress the arterial bloodflow to it for any period of time. There is no logical way you could tell me that that's a good thing to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: Now, Dr. Goldstein and others say you don't have to be a policeman who spends eight hours a day on a bike. It's even if you just ride it occasionally that it can cause problems. Bike manufacturers think this is all, well, a little bit crazy. They say that, yes, bikes can cause some problems, but it's quite rare and the problems would go away if men would just buy bikes that would fit properly and put the seat at the right height -- Bill.

HEMMER: I bet they do. What are men supposed to do? Get off the bike and not ride? Or what's the recommendation?

COHEN: Well, the recommendation is, just as the bike manufacturers say, make sure that your bike sits properly, but also there are some new seats that have come out in recent years as a result of these studies that are supposed to put less pressure in that area, that are supposed to be better for men, and you can see some here. These are at a bike specialty shop. So you have to look around for them, but there are these seats that have been designed to put less pressure that area.

HEMMER: Got it. Elizabeth, thank you. Elizabeth Cohen, medical correspondent at the CNN Center.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Your Sex Life>