WOMEN have long suspected it...and now a study has confirmed that "man flu" really exists.

Males take more time off work with colds they think are flu.

They also moan more, fork out more on remedies and 82 per cent stay in bed until they feel better.

The poll of 2,000 people found last year 64 per cent of men thought they had flu and took a day off compared with 45 per cent of women. But according to Prof Ron Eccles of the Common Cold Centre, Cardiff University, it is women who get ill more. He said: "This is because women have more contact with children - normally the main source of infection."

The poll for Nuts magazine found men take three days to recover and women half that time. November is said to be the worst month for "man flu" - with one in six suffering.