Mytholtoe and Whine

A British Medical Journal article by Vreeman and Carroll cited by the BBC(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7789302.stm) has attempted to debunk some of the 'scientific' myths associated with the winter months. These are supposedly believed by a majority of people (even by some physicians). The myths include one of interest to field biologists, namely the claim that hats are essential in the winter as most body heat (>40%) is lost through the head. It appears that the myth stems from a 1950's study on the US military in which soldiers waring Arctic survival suits lost most heat through their uncovered heads. It now seems that the rate of body heat loss from any uncovered part of the body is remarkably uniform (although keeping the brain warm is important). Other myths subjected to re-analysis are the claims that sugar makes children hyperactive ( it seems that parents rate their children as more hyperactive when they believe they have been consuming a sugar-containing drink that was actually sugar free); that night snacks will make you fat (excess calories make you fat irrespective of the time you eat them); that one can 'cure' a hangover with a range of drugs and foods (the only way to avoid a hangover seems to be to moderate your alcohol consumption); that Christmas Poinsettias are poisonous (the red leaves are not, in fact, toxic) and that suicides rise over the holiday period (they are not clustered here in spite of the modest increase in family conflict at this time).