DadTalk

Man flu fact or fiction

Half of men will upgrade a common cold to flu and describe headaches as a migraine to gain maximum sympathy.

Sorry, chaps, the game is up - scientists have confirmed that you're often not as ill as you say you are. Half of men will upgrade a common cold to flu and describe headaches as a migraine to gain maximum sympathy. They will also moan more than women when suffering a bug or virus.

This is despite the fact they catch fewer colds and flu each year - five compared with women's average of seven.

The study of 3,000 people did find that women are more likely to mention minor ailments on a daily basis. But when it comes to proper moaning, men are the masters. Karl Elliott of friendly society Engage Mutual, which commissioned the research, said: 'Men have had bad press concerning their tendencies towards "man flu", but our findings support the belief that men do moan more and are more likely to exaggerate their symptoms.

In other results, the survey found that women are very patient with malingerers. Despite 34 per cent rarely believing their husbands or boyfriends are very sick, 62 per cent can still be relied upon to serve up some sympathy.

Six in ten women said they didn't like seeing their partner ill while 49 per cent said they did their best to make them comfortable. Two-thirds of women regularly go to the chemist whenever their man is ill, 46 per cent run them a bath and 27 per cent provide breakfast in bed.

Read more from the Daily Mail