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Erschienen in: Wiener klinische Wochenschrift 1-2/2018

08.01.2018 | commentary

How many calories did Santa Claus consume on Christmas Eve?

verfasst von: Dr. Gary P. Wormser, Alexander Ladenheim

Erschienen in: Wiener klinische Wochenschrift | Ausgabe 1-2/2018

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Excerpt

In the twilight hours of Christmas Eve, many families in North America provide cookies and milk for Santa Claus. Avoiding excessive calorie intake is increasingly emphasized as part of a healthy life style [1]. An interesting question is how many calories Santa will have consumed that night on his trip to this region? This topic has been commented on extensively in the last few years (Table 1); however, the methodology used to determine households visited and calories consumed per household varies widely, is often incompletely disclosed, and when it is disclosed, often seems arbitrary. Furthermore, no source we reviewed attempted to address the specific metabolic demands of Santa Claus or the thermic effect of the food he consumes. Here we attempt to construct a more accurate picture of the Calories (herein use of a capital “C” refers to large/food calories) both ingested and expended by Santa Claus on Christmas Eve 2017. We restrict our data to the United States of America, where survey information is available on pertinent attitudes and behaviors in the population.
Table 1
Calorie consumption by Santa Claus and parameters published by internet media groups
Source
Calories consumed in billions (kiloJoules in billions)
Households in millions
Calories/household (kiloJoules)
Methodology (if disclosed)
URL (all accessed December 7, 2017)
OC Weekly
0.262
(1.10)
1.14
230
(962)
USA: 100 million households, 76% Christian, 15% with children, 10% actually put out cookies
Spoon University
494
(2067)
950
520
(2176)
Worldwide: 1.9 billion children worldwide, 2 children/household
USA Today
7.00
(29.3)
20
350
(1464)
USA
Chron
0.921
(3.85)
32.9
28
(117)
USA: 61 million children age 0–14 years, 1.86 children/household
One “bite” of cookie (=12 Calories) plus one “sip” of milk (=16 Calories)
Quora
105
(439)
378
278
(1163)
Worldwide
Eat Out Eat Well
18.4
(77.0)
92
200
(837)
Worldwide
Greatist
374
(1565)
2200
170
(711)
Worldwide: 2.2 billion Christians, each of whom leaves milk and cookies
Snopes
20.7
(86.6)
91.8
225
(941)
Worldwide: 378 million Christian children, 3.5 children/household
Telegraph
259
(1084)
740
350
(1464)
Worldwide: 1.85 billion children age 0–14 years, 2.5 children/household; minced pies and milk
Daily Mail
150
(628)
640
234
(979)
Worldwide: CEBRa
Quick Country
150
(628)
640
234
(979)
Worldwide: CEBRa
Mr. Mango Delivery
156
(653)
640
244
(1021)
Worldwide: CEBRa
Z1035
150
(628)
640
234
(979)
Worldwide: CEBRa
a CEBR methodology of the UK Center for Economic and Business Research (1.6 billion children in world, 2.5 kids/household)
Literatur
3.
Zurück zum Zitat US Census Bureau. American Community Survey (ACS) 1‑year estimates: “table S1101—households and families”. 2016. US Census Bureau. American Community Survey (ACS) 1‑year estimates: “table S1101—households and families”. 2016.
4.
Zurück zum Zitat Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. Dietary reference intakes for energy, carbohydrate, fiber, fat, fatty acids, cholesterol, protein, and amino acids. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2005. https://doi.org/10.17226/10490. Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. Dietary reference intakes for energy, carbohydrate, fiber, fat, fatty acids, cholesterol, protein, and amino acids. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2005. https://​doi.​org/​10.​17226/​10490.
Metadaten
Titel
How many calories did Santa Claus consume on Christmas Eve?
verfasst von
Dr. Gary P. Wormser
Alexander Ladenheim
Publikationsdatum
08.01.2018
Verlag
Springer Vienna
Erschienen in
Wiener klinische Wochenschrift / Ausgabe 1-2/2018
Print ISSN: 0043-5325
Elektronische ISSN: 1613-7671
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00508-017-1306-8

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