Walking, lifting lets Santa stay fit despite his heft

We don’t really know what Santa’s weight is, but based on pictures and drawings of him over the decades, he appears to have a body mass index or BMI that puts him in the obese category. Consequently, some argue that his body weight is unhealthy – even for Santa.

So, we pulled some strings and spoke with the top elf at the North Pole. After answering a dozen questions about why we were calling, we were connected to Mrs. Claus, who was kind enough to put us on the phone with Santa Claus himself.

Here’s a summary from our conversation with the big man.

QUESTION: Aloha, Santa! Greetings from warm Hawaii! How are things at the North Pole?

ANSWER: Ho, ho, ho. Things are warm here, too — at least by North Pole standards. Maybe it is just because we are busier than ever.

Believe it or not, we are all working up a sweat preparing for the big day. I put pedometers on the elves and found that they are all walking over 10 miles a day keeping the warehouse stocked.

Q: How is your health? Some people are concerned about your weight.

A: My work requires both strength and endurance. I dare say that I train year-round at least as much as pro football players.

Like the elves, I’m walking over 10 miles daily through most of the year. Also, lifting cases of toys and moving things around the warehouse provides good strength exercise for maintaining my muscle mass. I challenge people who question my health to join me for a day and see if they can keep up.

In addition, due to North Pole weather and flying the sleigh at night, I need a reasonable layer of body fat for insulation from the cold. Consequently, I hit my annual peak fat level just before Christmas. After the holidays my body fat declines somewhat as the weather warms up.

I’m genetically a big guy, but much of my weight is muscle. Last January I shaved and went on vacation in Honolulu. While there I managed to get my body composition estimated by a few different techniques at the University of Hawaii-Manoa Human Performance Lab. Doctoral student Morgan Kocher told me that my percent body fat is between 20 and 25 percent. That means I have a substantial muscle mass and an acceptable amount of body fat for my genetics.

Q: How do you and the elves stay in shape after the holidays?

A: Although things do slow down for us a bit after Christmas, next year’s preparations start in February and build throughout the year.

Personally, I wondered how the elves can eat so much and stay so lean. After using activity monitors and pedometers on them, I found that their nonstop activity expends a lot of calories, and therefore they need plenty of calories to eat from all food groups.

It’s the same for me. Once I went on a diet like everyone was suggesting. I got weaker and lost my endurance. I realized that I needed the amount of food I was eating to maintain my strength and endurance.

Q: What do you recommend for those of us with more sedentary jobs than yours?

A: Find a combination of exercises that require moving around on your feet and include strength exercises – not necessarily both at the same time! We have our big annual event and camaraderie that keeps us going. Find activities and people you enjoy and aim for specific events to have goals to meet. What about the Great Aloha Run in February for a good goal for the new year?

Alan Titchenal, Ph.D., C.N.S., and Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S., are nutritionists in the Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii at Manoa. Dobbs also works with University Health Services.