That's Fit

It's not just a judgment call that bikinis make men stupid -- it's a scientific fact. Check out this month's issue of the Journal of Consumer Research for the skinny on this truth. Here's the gist of it.

Belgian researchers conducted tests on 358 young men and found that they made poor decisions after looking at images of women in bikinis, touching bras, and watching video clips of young women, dressed in bikinis, run across hills, fields, and beaches. Basically, men become more impulsive after exposure to sexual cues. Ever wonder why automakers place leggy models in front of high-priced cars at auto shows? This is why.

Other studies offer their support. In 2006, for example, it was determined that sexually-aroused men would do all sorts of things they might not otherwise do. Essentially, sex narrows a man's mind. When they think about sex, pretty much all they can do is think about sex. Whether or not women are blinded by sex remains to be seen -- most studies have been done on men only.

Don't let bikinis get the best of you this summer, guys, or you might end up looking like quite a boob.

In the past 20 years, cancer incidence in young adults has doubled. The grand total: 70,000 diagnosis each year. Ouch. How about some salt for that wound: Cancer survival rates in young adults have not improved over the past 30 years, mostly due to delayed diagnosis. Want more?

The medical community at large is grossly uneducated about how to effectively communicate, treat, and follow-up with young adults. And the number one social issue faced by young cancer survivors is isolation. In a nutshell, young adults are a critically underserved population whose needs (fertility, education, sexuality, peer support, financial aid, insurance, employment) are so different than the needs of other age groups.

How do I know all of this? Because I just grabbed these facts and figures from young adult cancer survivor Matthew Zachary's website I'm Too Young For This -- or i[2]y -- which happens to offer the latest and greatest information for the under-40 population grappling with cancer health issues. It's a place Zachary hopes sticks around for a very long time.

For seventeen months now, Zachary has been hosting this place where young adults can mix and mingle and improve their quality of life. In order to keep his machine going strong, he needs some help. Some financial help.

If you are willing and able to support this growing organization with a tax deductible donation, check out The Stupid Cancer Fund at http://fund.i2y.com. If you can't donate, then I hope you'll still check out i[2]y -- for yourself, a friend, a loved one, or an acquaintance. Anyone young, and touched by cancer, and wishing to be heard.

If there's one crummy disease that flies in the face of good health, it's cancer. Stupid Cancer is what Matthew Zachary calls it.

Cancer-surviving Zachary, founder and executive director of I'm Too Young For This -- a rockin' place for young adults with cancer -- does all he can to support those under 40 trying to reclaim their health. You name it, he does it. Advocacy? Yep. Excursions, camps, and retreats? You bet. Scholarships and financial aid? Right on the money. This guy hosts his own streaming live Stupid Cancer Show on Monday nights, serves on the Google Health Advisory Council, sports a website TIME calls one of its Top 50, and now this inspiring cancer guru is making a splash in Hollywood.

Zachary will appear in an episode of Lifetime's Side Order of Life on Sunday, September 30 at 9:00 PM (ET/PT). In this episode, Vivy Porter (Diana Maria Riva) is dealing with cancer treatment and looking for the right kind of support. She finds it, at the hippest support group in town: a Stupid Cancer Happy Hour! Enter Zachary, who is there to greet Vivy when she arrives.

Check out this ground-breaking episode, won't you? Zachary promises you'll witness an accurate and hip portrayal of young adult cancer survivors. And I promise you'll love this guy, who is doing so much for so many. Like me.

When I was growing up I used to be so envious of Danica McKellar (aka "Winnie" off The Wonder Years) because she was cute and thin and lots of boys had crushes on her. Now that I'm older, well, I'm still a bit envious because she's still fit and beautiful, but I've also got to give the girl some serious respect because she's also really smart. Not only is she intelligent, she aims to let other girls know that it's great to be smart.

I think that in an age where women like Paris Hilton and Jessica Simpson flaunt the notion that they're hot but stupid (and I really wonder whether either is as clueless as they have portrayed themselves to be), it's incredibly refreshing and encouraging to have a beautiful woman not only admit that she's smart, but also make sure that young and impressionable girls know that it's possible to be both pretty and intelligent.

McKellar, who has penned a book called "Math Doesn't Suck", assures adolescent girls that it's cool to be good at math (and as an extension, most other school subjects I would imagine). So while I'm still a little bit jealous of the girl who was "Winnie Cooper", I'm also pretty darn impressed with the woman she's become.

A common challenge of exercise is figuring out how hard you should work. There are a few options to calibrate the ideal effort you should be putting forth, but most require too much math to make them great mid-workout options. I like the Keep It Simple Stupid version called the Talk Test.

For the average healthy individual who is trying to improve overall fitness, including cardiovascular and lung capacity, these are the rules.

• If you can have a full blown conversation during an aerobic workout you should be working harder.
• If you can't talk at all, even to scream "help!", you are working too hard.
• If you are huffing and puffing, but still have enough wind to tell your partner or trainer, "I can't wait to get this over with"...your pace is juuuuuust right.