#  a cautionary christmas tale 

 





December 25, 2009

 

 

Merry Christmas, everyone!

I was amused to read about the hoopla involving this online "[study](http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/extract/339/dec16_1/b5261)" in the *BMJ*  entitled "Santa Claus: A Public Health Pariah." The tongue-in-cheek article, written by Australian epidiomiologist Nathan J. Grills, contends that the corpulent Mr. Claus and his "rotund sedentary image" set a bad example for kids and adults alike.

The joke has apparently been lost on media organizations, bloggers, and [radio personalities](http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_122209/content/01125114.guest.html), who have suggested that the article is just another example of of politically correct, killjoy academic research. Grills has subsequently received harassing emails, and he was called a "Scrooge" by a [blogger](http://blogs.ajc.com/jay-bookman-blog/2009/12/17/sometimes-scrooge-has-a-medical-degree-and-an-aussie-accent/?cxntfid=blogs_jay_bookman_blog) for the *Atlanta Journal-Constitution*.

Yikes!

Grills has since [affirmed](http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,20797,26503581-952,00.html?from=public_rss) that he is, in fact, a "Santa believer and lover" and that he has even "donned the red and white garb a number of times to bring cheer at school concerts in rural Victoria." "To clarify," he said, "I am not a Santa researcher - the article was written in my spare time for a bit of comic relief."

More about the media hoopla surrounding Grills's article is [here ](http://blogs.chron.com/sciguy/archives/2009/12/santa_claus_a_health_pariah.html)and [here](http://www.blog.newsweek.com/blogs/nurtureshock/archive/2009/12/18/santa-s-a-health-menace-media-everywhere-are-falling-for-it-but-the-entire-study-is-a-fake.aspx).

Posted by [Maya Sen](http://www.iq.harvard.edu/blog/sss/archives/author/maya-sen-1/) at December 25, 2009 10:54 AM



 

 

 



 

 

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