Cold weather does not make people sick, germs do.

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No matter how long someone is outside in the cold if they are not exposed to any germs they won't get sick.

Erm, what about hypothermia?

That's true in itself but distinctly lacking in context.

There's definitely a Winter cold and flu season here, and deaths due to illness are higher in the Winter months. That's partly because bad weather forces people to congregate indoors with the windows shut. But it's also because viruses generally last longer in cold weather, and so have more chance of spreading.

Lack of sunlight / Vit D might also have a bearing. Nutrition could be a factor too - we seem to favour "stodge" in Winter. Fruit and veg become less appealing - who wants a salad when the weather is cold?

The big elephant in the room is poverty. There are proven links between wealth (or lack thereof) and health. That becomes more obvious in the Winter when people are struggling to pay heating bills. Hypothermia isn't caused by germs, it's caused by the cold, and it can kill you.

Warm damp enviroments breed germs. Hence why people who live in modern houses with cavity wall insulation are finding themselves more suseptable to picking up passing viruses as rhe viruses breed far quicker in modern houses with a warm but semi damp enviroment (The insulation creates condensation).

So why are we more likely to catch a cold in the winter? It is because ones body is under more stress due to the cold, so while the germs themselves are less likely to breed so fast, ones body is trying to do more then one thing and is having a harder time to cope with it.

Nope, that's folklore.

Healthline linky

I can never understand why people often say "we need a sharp frost to kill whatever virus is going around".

I heard a theory recently that it's about the leaves falling off the trees, so there's more pollution in the air.

Please, refute that.

I once experienced hypothermia when I was young. I went outside in the cold snowy weather for an hour with a t-shirt. When I came back in I was shivering. I could stop shivering. I covered myself up in a blanket. But that did very little good. My body could not generate the heat to warm the inside of a blanket. It was like my body was a wood burning stove and the fire went out. There was very little I could do to start it up again. Even standing next to a warm fireplace did not seem to help.

I have not heard that quote. But there is one that I do hear. It takes a hard frost to kill many insects. After a mild winter, spring can produce an abundance of pests.

For example, a hard frost, a period of at least four consecutive hours of temperatures below 28 degrees, kills off the mosquitoes that carry the disease [deadly Eastern equine encephalitis virus], according to the state's Department of Public Health.

Used to get too cold quite often when cycling to and from work. The times when I had a moped it was warmer because I was less exposed to the cold where my legs and body was on the fast downhill sections. The speed was the same and over the whole journey the moped was only a few minutes quicker despite that it could cruise at 40 to 45mph. I used to touch between 38 and 44mph on the few miles of downhill section so there was little between them.
But reliability used to be the issue with mopeds as dirt in the petrol from the petrol stations was frequent. I gave up using 2 wheeled motorized transport as the bicycle was moee reliable and I could take a lot more luggage on it. I also hated the motor cycle helmets as they enclosed my ears. I could never wear a full faced helmet. But I found bicycle helmets ok. The only issue is I have since found out through being in the bicycle trade is that bicycle helmets are only designed to cope with a collision of up to 12mph. (I used to hit 40mph daily and I rarely cruised below 10mph unless I was riding against the wind, but I won't tell them as then I would not be able to wear such a restricted helmet if it was designed to cope with 40+ mph. I once touched 60mph on the tandem).

That's not being sick, that's having a reduced body temperature.

Interesting, haven't thought about that. It would be refuted if historical accounts showed this happening before the industrial revolution.

If it isn't "being sick" then why do so many people have to go to hospital when they get it? In any case I posted that to correct the OP that cold DOES make you sick.

Everyone's mom tells you its because "the cold stresses your body and reduces your resistance".

And there is probably some truth in that.

But ten years ago I heard on TV that the main reason cold and flu season is in the cold months is because that is when it's school season. All the little kids are thrown together into classrooms and spread the germs to each other, and then they bring the germs home to the family.

Oh well, I guess I'd better leave before I make you all sick.

Do you also believe that a broken leg is an illness?  What about muscle cramps?  Hangnails?  Dandruff?