That's Fit

This one is for the guys, although it can be geared toward just about anyone. Doctor Ken received a question from a girl who caught her boyfriend not washing his hands after using the bathroom, so he addressed a few reasons why men should be cleaning their paws more. After all, a recent study found that more than 60 percent of us don't make habits of washing.

For starters, keep them clean on a regular basis. Especially before you eat! That should be common knowledge, but you'd be surprised (I'm guilty of this all too often). Public areas are particularly notorious for harboring all kinds of germs -- like shopping carts and door handles for example. Don't forget to wash well. Twenty seconds should be a goal, which can seem like a lifetime under the sink.

Ever used a paper towel to open the bathroom door on your way out? That's an easy way to avoid picking up nasty germs all over again. Another tip pits hand sanitizers against traditional soap. All things considered, hand washing is probably better. But due to the alcohol content of sanitizers, they work well on killing germs too. There are some other tips, so check them out here!

As a rule, young men tend to get into more accidents than women and these tend to be more serious and result in more fatalities. Excessive speed is a common cause of these traffic wrecks. I'm a girl but I'll readily admit that when I was younger I definitely enjoyed testing the speed limit from time to time. I try to keep this in check now that I'm both older and, after losing a friend (who was only 19 and a male, by the way) in a car accident, wiser.

So the question is, how do you get young and inexperienced drivers, especially male ones, to slow down? They're taking a unique and somewhat dark approach in Australia with ads that show women insinuating that men who drive too fast have small, er, well, you know.

The country used to promote save driving by showing images of gory car crashes caused by speeding but the group that created the adverts believes that, as young men are increasingly desensitized to bloody images due to horror films and violent video games, the old ads weren't getting through. Now they're hoping to convince the guys to slow down by saying that those who race around behind the wheel are overcompensating because they have small penises.

It's an interesting approach to go after their sense of pride but I'm not so sure it will work. What do you think? And can you think of a similar idea that would work for girls who have a lead foot?

Is this true? Do men really have trouble and get confused in the grocery store? According to a new survey 71 percent of men have done some kind of shopping in the grocery store over the past three months (up from 41 percent back in 2002), and they aren't having an easy time of it. They have trouble finding things, are uncomfortable making substitution decisions, and (of course!) don't ask for help when they need it. And because they are so different from women in the way they shop, grocery stores (currently designed for women) often leave them feeling generally confused and even a little overwhelmed.

Unfortunately it's unlikely that stores will be making major changes anytime soon, since women still represent the majority of the shopping market. So, for now anyway, it looks like it's "sink or swim" guys! Good luck!

It's hard for a lot of people to ask questions when they're in with the doctor. Whether it's because you feel a little intimidated, you feel rushed, don't want to bother them, are afraid you'll sound stupid, are worried you'll get bad news, or (like me) simply forget once you're in there, it's a real shame. After all, the whole reason that doctor is there is to help you get or stay healthy and to answer your questions and concerns.

So Sarah wrote a post earlier this month on important questions women should ask their doctors, and here's something for the guys: the 5 most common questions men don't ask their doctors, and the answers that go with them.

Answers and everything, it doesn't get much better than that!

Osteoporosis and weak bones are generally thought of as a women's issue, and although women are 4 times more likely to suffer from "brittle bones," with 1 in 12 men getting the disease it's a serious issue for them too.

A common culprit for women who have weak bones is the decline in estrogen after menopause, but what about for men? Surprisingly, most men have higher levels of estrogen than most post-menopausal women, which may be why they generally have lower risk. But those men who have a lower number of active estrogen metabolites also have a correspondingly higher risk of developing lower bone density (low -- high -- low -- did that make sense?).

But don't worry guys, there are no plans yet to start generally prescribing estrogen hormone replacement for men. Not yet anyway...