Cycling 186 miles a week damages men’s fertility

[Jake]

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/stand...les+a+week+damages+men+s+fertility/article.do

Men who cycle more than 186 miles a week are damaging their fertility, experts warned today.

A new study of healthy triathletes reveals a direct link between men who do intensive cycling training and poor sperm quality.

 

[HJ]

Rehashed rubbish, ignore poor quality journalism...

Did a wee bit of digging and here is how they carried out the "research",

Diana Vaamonde, from the University of Córdoba in Spain, and colleagues analyzed differences in sperm parameters among 45 men who were classified as physically active (n = 16), water polo players (n = 14), and triathletes (n = 15), with mean ages of 19.0, 25.5, and 33.1 years, respectively.

Source

I would question the validity of the study, the sample sizes are very small and they were not comparing like with like, this would not get published in a good quality scientific journal, but is the sort of rubbish which journalist with no knowledge of science like as it give a good headline.

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

Ah well, I've got two kids already so no worries ..

 

[Woz!]

I'd hope that the surgeon doing his business with a scalpel would have put paid to my baby-making ability, so I've got no worries

 

[jimboalee]

Ah well, I've got two kids already so no worries ..

Here too.

Two strapping sons. Both strong, both intelligent, both at Grammar school.

I was riding 5 x 35 = 175 miles per week, so was quite near the threshold.

In fact, both my sons have April birthdays, so they were concieved in June/July - just at the most busy part of my cycling year. !! I may have been well over 250 miles per week in those months.

 

[jimboalee]

"Cycling 186 miles a week damages men’s fertility".

"Go out on that bike again and I'll chop your bollocks off!".

 

[yello]

I don't want children anyway.

 

[ed_o_brain]

Doesn't seem to have adversely affected my ability to spawn.

 

[jimboalee]

If you have any worries, go to Dr Diana's clinic, and for a exceptionally good price of E 5000.......

 

[User482]

Right, so 185 miles is fine, but 187 miles isn't? Good one...

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

Right, so 185 miles is fine, but 187 miles isn't? Good one...

I haven't read the report but I suspect they've just picked up on a press release from a bit of research that said something bland like "cycling 300km a week caused a reduction in sperm count in x% of our sample of y men". And spun it out in that way the press have ..

I'd be interested to see the sample size, how big a reduction there was, what other factors they corrected for and so on. Not interested enough to actually read it, though, you understand ..

 

[HJ]

I haven't read the report but I suspect they've just picked up on a press release from a bit of research that said something bland like "cycling 300km a week caused a reduction in sperm count in x% of our sample of y men". And spun it out in that way the press have ..

I'd be interested to see the sample size, how big a reduction there was, what other factors they corrected for and so on. Not interested enough to actually read it, though, you understand ..

It was quoted above, but here it is again:

Diana Vaamonde, from the University of Córdoba in Spain, and colleagues analyzed differences in sperm parameters among 45 men who were classified as physically active (n = 16), water polo players (n = 14), and triathletes (n = 15), with mean ages of 19.0, 25.5, and 33.1 years, respectively.

The sample sizes are small and there is great variation in the age ranges between the tree groups...

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

Thanks HJ .. sorry, must have skipped your post in my haste to score points on what good swimmers my little guys are!!

It's a long way from conclusive isn't it? Surely this isn't a newspaper article drawing a conclusion from a bit of research that isn't supported by the research itself!!??

 

[User482]

I haven't read the report but I suspect they've just picked up on a press release from a bit of research that said something bland like "cycling 300km a week caused a reduction in sperm count in x% of our sample of y men". And spun it out in that way the press have ..

I'd be interested to see the sample size, how big a reduction there was, what other factors they corrected for and so on. Not interested enough to actually read it, though, you understand ..

Yeah, I was just being sarcastic - clearly the headline isn't supported by the research...

 

[jimboalee]

And how did Dr Diana and her colleagues collect the sperm samples?