Fact or fiction: Does wearing a hat keep you warmer?

DETROIT – Every winter you hear admonition to wear a hat because you've been told that most of your body heat escapes through your head.

Well, Local 4's Dr. Frank McGeorge says that's a myth. You lose the same proportion of heat through your head as you would from any other exposed part of your body.

In truth, the original claim that between 40 percent to 45 percent of your body heat is lost from your head, comes from an old army manual. The subjects were tested while fully clothed, minus a hat. Well, of course they lost most of their heat from their head, because it was the only part that wasn't covered.

You only lost about 5 to 10 percent of body heat in total from your head. But, wearing a hat projects your ears from frostbite.

Bottom line, you should wear a hat not because you could freeze to death, but because it's the smart thing to do.