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Heading or Not?

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From: David Ashleydale
Date: Mar 28, 2013 4:28PM

Hi,

Another interesting question came up the other day and I didn't know the
answer. I know that headings can be somewhat of a gray area, but I'd like
to know your opinions on this situation.

I have a phrase followed by a bulleted list. The question is whether or not
the phrase should be marked up as a heading.

*Desserts and Snacks:*

- Are not healthy
- Are not helpful in losing weight
- May cause restless sleep

The phrase "Desserts and Snacks" is bold and is followed by a colon.

Should "Desserts and Snacks" be marked up as a heading? The fact that it is
bold, on a line of its own and serves as kind of a title to the content
that follows it leads me to believe it should be a heading.

But really this is all just one sentence that happens to have a colon and a
list of items in it. It seems odd to me to have the first three words of a
sentence be marked up as a heading. It could easily have been written like
this:

"Desserts and snacks are not healthy, are not helpful in losing weight, and
may cause restless sleep."

How would you mark that phrase up? I keep going back and forth on it.

Thanks,
David