The holidays won't be in full swing for several more weeks, give or take, but if you're unwrapping your annual excuse now that seasonal festivities are the reason for your weight gain, you should know that science backs you up.

A survey published in the New England Journal of Medicine of nearly 3,000 people in countries as diverse as the U.S., Japan and Germany found that holiday weight gain is fairly universal. We may eat different goodies (nobody eats Aunt Joyce's fruitcake), but the results are the same. Survey participants in all three countries reported gaining more weight in the 10 days after Christmas compared to the 10 days before.

On the plus side (negative really), folks said they shed half of the weight gain shortly after the holidays concluded, though the remaining poundage tended to linger until summer or later.

Bone of Prevention

The too-sedentary lives of modern American kids is having another damaging effect beyond rising rates of obesity: Their bones are becoming more fragile.

According to a clinical report published in Pediatrics, the percentage of children experiencing broken bones has increased from 35 percent to 65 percent over the past 40 years. Researchers say the increased risk is due to modern lifestyles, particularly too much sitting around indoors and too little exercise outside. Also, children are not getting enough calcium in their diets.

Treatments for weak bones in adults have not been FDA-approved for use in children, but the scientists do suggest a simple, preventative measure: Children can build bone mass by jumping for 10 minutes per day, three times a week.

It should come naturally.

Get Me That, Stat!

A new study by the RAND Corporation reports that the major health care proposals of presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump produce — surprise! — decidedly different results. The analysis finds that Clinton's proposals would provide health care insurance coverage to an additional 9 million people while Trump's would result in approximately 20 million persons losing coverage.

Life in Big Macs

One hour of lying in bed quietly — doing nothing — burns 68 calories (based on a 150-pound person) or the equivalent of 0.1 Big Macs.

Counts

80: Percentage of surveyed physicians who say they feel overextended or at capacity, with no time to see additional patients

54: Percentage who describe their morale as somewhat or very negative

49: Percentage who say they are either often or always feeling burnt out

48: Percentage who say they plan to cut back hours, retire, take a non-clinical job, switch to "concierge" medicine or take other steps that would further limit patient access to care

Source: 2016 Survey of America's Physicians: Practice Patterns and Perspectives

Doc Talk

Dose sponge: a radiology employee

Phobia of the Week

Aulophobia: fear of flutes

Never Say Diet

The Major League Eating record for sausage sandwiches is 13.25 in 12 minutes, held by inaptly named ChipBurger Simpson.

Best Medicine

Patient: "Well, doc, I hope you're going to tell me that I'm very ill."

Doctor: "Why do you say that? Don't you want me to tell you you're the picture of health?"

Patient: "No. I feel absolutely terrible. I don't want to feel this way if I'm healthy."

Observation

"Don't think of organ donations as giving up part of yourself to keep a total stranger alive. It's really a total stranger giving up almost all of themselves to keep part of you alive." — Unknown

Medical History

This week in 1971, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the first time shut down heavy industries in Birmingham, Alabama, when air pollution approached dangerous levels. It was an emergency action under the Clean Air Act of 1970. The EPA asked a Federal judge to issue a temporary restraining order.

Med School

Q: What good is your pinkie finger?

A: Well, apart from making gloves fully functional, your pinkie finger provides roughly half of your hand strength. While the index, middle finger and thumb are designed to pinch and pluck power, the pinkie and the ring finger provide your hand's basic grabbing power.

Just trying gripping something without your smallest finger.

Epitaphs

"Never born, never died: Only visited this planet Earth between December 11, 1931 and January 19, 1990." — Indian spiritual guru and teacher Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh)