If shivering burns fat, why don't we eat frozen meals?

We put this to Giles Yeo, from the MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit...

Giles - I think the answer is going to be it's probably not a good idea to have your meals frozen. Saying that though, clearly if you shiver, you're using calories and you're using energy but it's probably easier to go for a walk; it's easier to do any number of things. I would recommend eating your food warm.

Kat - My housemate yesterday morning walked in holding a stick of celery and said "I'm detoxing, I'm going to do a detox. I'm just hardly going to eat anything," and by lunchtime she'd cracked and was eating lunch. Do a lot of people just start off with these good intentions?

Giles - What did she eat?

Kat - I think she just cooked up chicken and some vegetables. It was quite healthy.

Chris - Not ice cream. Are they not looking for a bit of a get out clause because they could say, 'it's cold so I'm having to make a lot of energy to warm this up so, therefore, it doesn't count.'

Kat - Is ice cream a health food? Make our day!

Giles - I'm not paid by Haagen Dazs or Ben & Jerry's - other ice creams are available.

Kat - Ice cream not a health food then?

Chris - Giles Yeo, basically it's a 'augh augh.' It's a no from you on that one then?

Giles - It's a no from me.... No. It think it's like saying it's better to drink water to drink water cold. Some people say it's better to drink water warm because you're warm and it's better. Look, we are very well temperature controlled all the way through. It's the same as having a ph diet. Once again, we're also very well controlled on the ph front. Just eat healthily.

Chris - Eat healthily and do exercise.

Giles - Absolutely!