Is Santa Claus really a good role model?

Last year, the British Medical Journal found that Santa Claus is more commonly recognized by American children than the President or the Pope… or even the baby Jesus. In fact, the journal noted that among American youngsters, “Santa Claus was the only fictional character more highly recognized than Ronald McDonald.” But, public health practitioners question whether the jolly fellow is truly a good role model. In the past, the traditional overweight Santa has been used to sell multiple unhealthy products such as cola and candy as well as cigarettes. While the latter has been banned from use in advertising today, the concept of Santa marketing high-fat, high-sugar foods still exists.

Countries that revere Santa Claus as a holiday icon have higher levels of childhood obesity, according to numerous international Santa Claus studies. Because of his round belly and obvious overweight physical condition, Santa Claus has taught our children (albeit, subtly) that obesity is associated with good cheer and happiness.  While that may seem like a ludicrous suggestion, let’s look at a few of our traditions in connection with health habits. First, we are asked to leave Santa a plate of cookies and a glass of brandy for him to enjoy during his visit to our home. However, his waistline really can’t afford the sugar and fat in the cookies let alone the alcohol that he will drink before driving off your roof in his sleigh. So, not only are we encouraging high-fat, high-sugar foods, we’re also endorsing drinking and driving – even if it is only a subtle endorsement. The carrots and milk we leave for the reindeer would be a much better snack choice for Santa himself.

Second, the Santa “helpers” found at the thousands of malls and department stores across the nation are not necessarily the best “helpers.” According to studies of these Santa Clauses, most countries, including the United States, do not require medical or health check-ups for immunizations or other medical conditions for these mall/store employees. Thus, a Santa could potentially carry the H1N1 virus, Tuberculosis, or other infectious disease that could become an unwelcomed gift given freely to your child as he or she sits on Santa’s lap.

Because Santa Claus is not likely to be removed from the public realm anytime soon, parents can protect their health as well as the health of their children with a few simple precautions. If you visit an unknown Santa’s helper at a mall or department store, one of the first methods to protect against infectious diseases is to make sure you and your child’s immunizations are up to date.  Next, washing your hands and using hand sanitizers (when washing is not readily available) is also an option after sitting on Santa’s lap. Most of all, keep unwashed hands away from your face, eyes, and mouth to protect against transferring any infectious diseases.

Next, tackle the cookies and alcohol issue by replacing Santa’s snack with a healthy alternative – you may actually create a new and improved holiday tradition at your house. While you need not leave a salad and glass of ice water (although that may be the optimal snack for Santa), you could leave reduced fat crackers and low-fat peanut butter with a glass of juice to teach your child about healthy snack choices. Better yet, you might even consider having your child leave a non-food gift for Santa such as a homemade thank you card or special picture painted on holiday paper. Not only will this remove unhealthy eating habits from the concept of cheer and happiness, it will provide an activity for you and your child that could turn into a unique annual holiday tradition.

While Santa Claus’ overall presence at this time of year does involve the spreading of good cheer to all, it’s important to remove his connections to unhealthy habits or unwanted diseases. Teach your child to focus on Santa’s message of giving instead of the food products and other unhealthy behaviors associated with this holiday icon.

Reference:

Grills, N. & Halyday, B. (2009). Santa Claus: A public health pariah? British Medical Journal, 339, 1424-1426.

Breakfast + Play = Improved Health

Poor health can often be attributed to social and behavioral actions that learned over time. These social activities that lead to illnesses include smoking, drinking, using illicit drugs, and overeating. While this is not necessarily new news for our community, the fact that there is a group of concerned citizens focused on improving the health of Crawford County’s residents may be an enlightening news bulletin. The Crawford Health Improvement Coalition (CHIC) is a group of individuals who represent health agencies across the county who are aiming to reduce poor health among Crawford County’s residents.  CHIC’s most critical focus areas revolve around childhood obesity, tobacco and other drug use, and cancer awareness.

According to the County’s Health Rankings as performed by a study out of the University of Wisconsin, Crawford County contains a significant percentage of people who participate in unhealthy behaviors. Out of the state’s 67 counties, Crawford ranked 33^rd in overall physical and mental health but 45^th in healthy behaviors. What this latter number means is that Crawford County’s population engages in more unhealthy behaviors than most of the state’s population. Only 22 counties ranked worse than Crawford; yet, 44 counties fared better. Factors for such behavioral rankings included the fact that the county includes 23% smokers, 30% obese residents, 15% binge drinkers, and 18% who are considered to be in poor or fair health.

Public health professionals discovered that behaviors learned early in childhood often remain with the person throughout their lifespan. A recent study published in a recent issue of Psychology journal discovered that eating breakfast and participating in spontaneous activities (such as active play) were associated with healthy development of children in terms of building healthy relationships and not being overweight or obese. By contrast, children who did not eat breakfast and spent more time being sedentary (such as sitting in front of the television or computer) were more likely to be overweight and less able to develop social relationships with others.

While it may seem obvious, the most important behavior that parents and legal guardians can offer their children is feeding them a nutritious breakfast. A second behavior is engaging them in some sort of active play, which may involve something as simple as going for a walk.  Increasing physical activity is one of the major focus areas for CHIC. For example, the Penncrest School District offers the program “Caring Habits” for its 7^th graders at Maplewood and Cambridge Springs Middle Schools. Through their Caring Habits program, the district incorporates a physical activity into the youth’s school day as a means of encouraging spontaneous play. These activities have included bicycling, strength training, and track and field. The idea is to break up the day with movement – a means of warding off sedentary behaviors that can lead to obesity.

It’s important to instill healthy behaviors into our children today so that they can grow into healthy adults. However, anyone can retrain themselves and more from poor behaviors to healthy ones. Therefore, everyone – regardless of your age – should sit down to a nutritious breakfast and engage in spontaneously active play every day.

References:

Silvia, C., Giulia, B., Emanuela, R., Vacirca, M. F. (2010). Positive development in children and the precursors of healthy life-styles: The role of eating regularly and level of leisure activity. Psychology, 1, 151-158.

University of Wisconsin. (2010). County Health Rankings. Retrieved November 12, 2010 from http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/.