Santa ought to ditch his sleigh, get walking, and give up his pipe, a public health expert argues. (Ron Johnson/Peoria Journal/Associated Press)

Santa ought to ditch his sleigh, get walking, and give up his pipe, a public health expert argues.

In the light-hearted Christmas issue of the British Medical Journal, Nathan Grills, from Monash University in Australia, says the image of Jolly Old St. Nick promotes obesity and an unhealthy lifestyle, based on Grills' review of literature and websites.

"Santa only needs to affect health by 0.1 per cent to damage millions of lives," Grills said, adding it would be better if his popularity was used to promote healthy living, such as sharing carrots with his red-nosed reindeer Rudolph.

Awareness of Santa is high, with Ronald McDonald being the only fictional character more widely recognized among American school children, he found.

But the review suggested Santa is a reckless role model, who snacks on cookies, occasionally smokes cigars and doesn't wear a helmet during "extreme sports such as roof surfing and chimney jumping."

He could also be promoting drunk driving, given the tradition of leaving Santa Claus a brandy to wish him well on his travels.

Promotes a 'sedentary' image

The jolly gift giver also "continues to sport a rotund, sedentary image," Gillis wrote.

During the swine flu pandemic, Santa is in close contact with sniffling, coughing kids. If Santa sneezes or coughs around 10 times a day, all the children who sit on his lap may end up with H1N1 as well as their Christmas present, argues Grills.

Grills said he donned a Santa suit himself, and was turned off by the snotty nosed kids and lack of wipes or sanitizer between clients.

Grills proposed a new image for Santa: a slimmed down version on a treadmill.

Grills admits he wrote his paper to be tongue in cheek, and it's up to the reader to decide how much of his paper they believe, saying it is "a bit like Santa Claus."

"I think Santa is a good role model for kids in terms of giving gifts and being generous. The true St. Nick was a very generous bishop."

Despite the humour, Grills said there is a serious message about how Santa is used to market products to children.

Not one of the publications examined was peer reviewed.

With files from Australian Broadcasting Corporation