For a while now, the expression 'man flu' has been controversial. Many men say their illness is real, while many women say they are just being weak. But why is it that some men seem to suffer, or complain, more when they get sick than women?

A recently published study may have the answer. Can science prove that men really do suffer more, or do they just moan instead of getting on with it? Dan and Neil teach six items of vocabulary and discuss the issue.

This week's question:

In a survey conducted by Nuts magazine that asked its readers how long they took to recover from a cold or flu, where women put an average of 1.5 days, what did men put?

a) 1 day

b) 2 days

c) 3 days

Listen to the programme to find out the answer.

Vocabulary

the sniffles
a cold (informally)

runny nose
when a person's nose leaks mucus

soldier on
continue despite difficulty

man flu
the situation where a person, often a man, tends to complain and exaggerate a small illness such as a cold

whining
complaining repeatedly often in an annoying way

symptoms
feelings of illness caused by a disease

Transcript

Note: This is not a word for word transcript

Dan
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Dan, and joining me today is Neil. Hi Neil.

Neil
Hi, everyone!

Dan
Bless you! Are you ok?

Neil
I think I’m coming down with something serious.

Dan
It’s just a case of the sniffles.

Neil
The sniffles is an informal way of saying a cold or flu. It comes from the sniffing sound people make when they have a runny nose.

Dan
And a runny nose is when liquid mucus keeps leaking from our nose – usually when we are sick. I’m afraid you’ll just have to soldier on Neil.  

Neil
To soldier on means to continue despite difficulty. I’m dying! What’s it about anyway?

Dan
It’s about ‘man flu’, and whether it’s actually real, or just something men like to complain about. We'll give you 6 words and expressions – and, of course, our quiz question.

Neil
Alright, fire away.

Dan 
In a survey conducted by Nuts magazine that asked its readers how long they took to recover from a cold or flu, where women put an average of 1.5 days, what did men put?

a) 1 day

b) 2 days

c) 3 days

Neil
I’m going to say 3 days. The threat of ‘man flu’ is real.

Dan
Well, we’ll find out later, but let’s clarify. ‘Man flu’ is the tendency that many people believe men have to complain about a minor illness, such as a cold or flu, and act as if they were suffering from something a lot more serious.

Neil
Yes. But science cannot say whether men do actually suffer more than women, or if men just tend to complain more.

Dan
Well, let’s hear from this British couple about whether they think ‘man flu’ is real or not.

Vox
British Man
Men definitely do suffer a lot more, I think, than women do when we get flu.

British Woman
Yeah, I’m not so convinced. I feel like they just complain more.

British Man
It wipes me out.

British Woman
I was ill recently and I just carried on and went to work and everything. And when Chris had got sick recently he was on the sofa and couldn’t really do anything, so…

Dan
And it seems that it’s not just in the UK. Listen to this BBC Journalist interviewing a woman from Europe.

Vox
BBC Journalist
You’re from the Netherlands. Have you ever accused your boyfriend of having man flu?

Dutch woman
Oh, absolutely yes. Yeah.

BBC Journalist
What have you accused him of doing?

Dutch woman
…whining?

Neil
Whining is when someone complains repeatedly and often in an annoying way about something. So, there certainly seems to be something there…but nothing has been proven, right?

Dan
Well, a recent scientific study has indicated that there could be something to ‘man flu’ after all. Doctor Kyle Sue, an assistant professor of family medicine at Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada, has suggested that there could be a difference between men and women when it comes to respiratory diseases.

Neil
Respiratory meaning related to breathing. He says that there was already a lot of evidence from existing studies suggesting men experience worse, longer-lasting symptoms.

Dan
Symptoms are the feelings of illness caused by a disease. Listen to him explain why this is.

Doctor Kyle Sue,
Memorial University, Newfoundland
It seems that the higher the testosterone levels, the lower the immune response to these types of infections, whereas the higher the oestrogen level, the stronger the immune response.

Neil
Testosterone and oestrogen are hormones that exist in both men and women. Testosterone is higher in males and oestrogen is higher in females. Dr. Sue’s research suggests that the more oestrogen a person has, the better able they are to fight off the infection. That’s it then! Man flu is real!

Dan
Hold your horses, Neil. There are two problems. First of all, the Royal college of GPs in the UK says that there is no such thing as ‘man flu’. And secondly, even Dr Sue admits that these results, including his own, are only ‘suggestive’ and are not ‘definitive’.

Neil
So, basically he’s saying that there is a suggestion that ‘man flu’ exists, but the evidence so far cannot say for sure.

Dan
Exactly. More studies need to be done. But you know what we can be sure about? The answer to this week’s quiz question. I asked you in a survey conducted by Nuts magazine that asked its readers how long they took to recover from a cold or flu, where women put an average of 1.5 days, what did men put?

a) 1 day

b) 2 days

c) 3 days

Neil
And I said 3 days.

Dan
And you were right!

Neil
Good!

Dan
The men said they took twice as long to recover!

Neil
It must be all that manly testosterone. Let’s review our vocabulary, shall we? 

Dan
Our first was the sniffles. If you have the sniffles, you have a cold, informally speaking. What's the best cure for the sniffles Neil?

Neil
Stay in bed and sweat it out, my mum always said. Just make sure you have lots of tissues to deal with your runny nose. That’s when a person’s nose leaks mucus, usually because they are ill. Yuck!

Dan
Next we had soldier on. This phrasal verb means to continue despite difficulty. When was the last time you had to soldier on, Neil?

Neil
A few days ago when I went the whole day without eating any lunch! Then we had ‘man flu’. That’s is the name given to the situation where a person, often a man, tends to complain and exaggerate a small illness such as a cold. Do you do that, Dan?

Dan
I’m sure my wife would say I do! Next we had whining. If you whine, you complain repeatedly and often in an annoying way.

Neil
Like my children did last time I didn’t buy them ice-cream. And finally we had symptoms. These are the feelings of illness caused by a disease. What are the symptoms of flu, Dan?

Dan
A headache, aching muscles, and a fever. And that’s the end of this 6 Minute English! Don’t forget to check out our YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. There you made it. You can collapse now.

Neil
Bye.

Dan
Bye!