Associated Press | Dec 16, 09 6:01 PM CST
Nathan Grills, a public health expert at Monash University in Australia says Santa Claus should get rid of his sleigh and start biking or walking to lose his jelly belly.
Grills’ research was published online Thursday in the annual Christmas issue of the British medical journal, BMJ.
Based on his literature review, Grills identified a “very high Santa awareness” among children. He says that Santa makes a reckless role model, observing that his refusal to don a helmet during “extreme activities such as roof surfing, his frequent cookie snacks and occasional cigars set a poor example.
“Santa is a late adopter of evidence-based behavior change and continues to sport a rotund, sedentary image,” Grills wrote. He also found a correlation between countries that celebrate Santa and large numbers of fat children.
“Santa promotes a message that obesity is synonymous with cheerfulness and joviality,” Grills wrote. He suggested that jolly old Saint Nick should swap his traditional snacks of cookies and milk in favor of sharing carrots with Rudolph.
Even worse, Grills said Santa’s close-up contact with sniffling, coughing kids made him a one-man outbreak waiting to happen, with swine flu the biggest seasonal concern. “Unsuspecting little Johnny gets to sit on Santa’s lap, but as well as his present, he gets H1N1 influenza,” Grills warned.
Grills said he donned a Santa suit himself _ and deemed the experience a public health nightmare. “I was kissed and hugged by snotty-nosed kids at each performance and was never offered alcohol swabs to wipe my rosy cheeks between clients,” he wrote.
My advice to Mr. Grills – - Get a life and enjoy this special time of year.
