Though he has a few billion houses to visit, Santa
Claus should get off his sleigh and walk or bike, according to a cheeky
public health doctor, who says Santa’s commercial image promotes
obesity, unsafe air travel and a general unhealthy lifestyle.
“His popularity should be used to promote healthy living,” Dr.
In 2007 acting U.S. surgeon general
lose his belly fat (the most dangerous kind), to eat carrots instead of
energy-dense cookies and to don a helmet while participating in
“extreme sports such as roof surfing and chimney jumping.”
“Given Santa’s fame, he has considerable potential
to influence individual and societal behavior — and not necessarily for
good,” Grills wrote in the satirical piece. “I am suspicious of how he
has been co-opted for marketing purposes.”
Santa’s rotund image, popularized by 1930s ads for
Coca-Cola, is a far cry from the original St. Nick, who was quite trim.
And though his quivering belly has been associated with joviality, it’s
a mistake to equate obesity with cheerfulness, according to Canadian
researchers who found that “remaining sedentary was generally
associated with a low jolly quotient.” (Yes,
But
perform his duties. He needs “a huge resource of fat in order to
perform what is, quite frankly, the greatest endurance activity known
to man: Carrying and delivering presents throughout the entire world,”
Gutierrez wrote in a heated
But even if Santa lost weight, there’s another problem: Santa is sneezed or coughed on repeatedly while taking gift requests.
Grills speaks from experience. As a Santa
impersonator, he “was kissed and hugged by snotty-nosed kids at each
performance and was never offered alcohol swabs to wipe my rosy cheeks
between clients.”
Via McClatchy-Tribune News Service.
