A recent study published in Evolutionary Psychological Science suggests that intelligence in young men is positively linked to physical traits like grip strength and a masculine body shape. At the same time, the research provides evidence that higher intelligence tends to be associated with less promiscuous sexual behavior. These findings support the idea that cognitive ability and physical health may reflect an underlying general fitness factor, while also steering smarter men toward more monogamous relationship strategies. The new study was motivated by the idea of a general fitness factor in humans. In evolutionary biology, there is a concept suggesting that overall genetic quality is expressed through multiple physical and mental traits at the exact same time. This concurrent expression happens because certain genes can influence several seemingly unrelated physical characteristics or biological systems. This genetic phenomenon is known as pleiotropy. For example, a single gene might affect both a person’s immune system and their brain development simultaneously. Some evolutionary scientists suspect that an individual’s total load of genetic mutations affects their entire body. Every person …