From staying warm to resisting illness, healthy people tend to fare better during the winter months, experts say.

"In general, healthy people stay warm better than unhealthy people," said Larry Kenney, professor of physiology and kinesiology. "Also, large people have an easier time staying warm, regardless of whether their bulk is fat or muscle."

Young people will also find it easier to retain heat than older people will, he said.

"As we get older, we lose the ability to constrict muscles in our skin," making it more difficult to stay warm, he said.

With regard to behavior, however, there is little people can do to stay warm and free from illness, aside from bundling up and practicing healthy behaviors, such as frequently washing hands and exercising.

"The number one way of compensating for heat loss is putting on more clothes," Kenney said.

Jill Patterson, assistant professor of nutrition, echoed these facts. Eating habits in particular do not significantly affect a person's ability to stay warm, she said. For example, there are no certain types of foods that promote retention of body heat more than others.

"It's a misconception to think fatty foods keep you warm," Patterson said. "Your body temperature is tightly regulated, so type of food has little to do with temperature."

In addition, patterns of eating do not affect temperature, she said. Eating many small meals throughout the day as opposed to several large meals will not help people stay warmer, and vice versa.

In addition to making people uncomfortable, cold weather can also cause health problems to emerge.

Cold weather can lead to a worsening of respiratory problems, such as asthma, said Edward Rosick, physician at University Health Services. It also can cause skin problems like eczema to surface.

However, the cold itself does not make people more likely to catch cold or other illnesses.

"Cold in and of itself doesn't cause people to get sick," Rosick said. "What it does is it forces people to be inside more." With close contact, people are more likely to spread germs, he said.

Staying inside during the cold winter months has another drawback: it usually causes people to be less active.

While most people consume and burn around the same number of calories year-round, people tend to get less exercise when the temperature drops, Patterson said.

And while the body does burn calories to stay warm, usually this does not make a significant difference.

"Scientifically, it does take energy to keep warm," Patterson said.

However, people compensate for being cold by wearing warmer clothing, so the amount of energy that is used up does not differ significantly between seasons.