LONDON: Santa Claus is adored by youngsters the world over, but he could be setting a bad example when it comes to his physical health and mental well being, according to UK doctors.
Centuries of sherry-drinking, eating mince pies and working night shifts could be putting Santa Claus at serious health risk, according to the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGPs) – a professional body for doctors in the UK.
With every house leaving carrots for his reindeers and mince pies and cookies for him, it is likely Santa’s BMI is exceptionally high.
Obesity can lead to numerous health problems, such as hypertension, diabetes, fatty liver disease, and cancer, the RCGP said in a statement.
As a result of his waistline, unhealthy diet, and alcohol intake, it is also possible that Santa Claus has developed gout – a painful joint condition caused by the build-up of uric acid in the blood.
Santa Claus is known for his tight black boots to help him combat the snow, but with all his long haul travel they could be damaging his blood vessels – although the activity throughout his journey will help reduce his risk a little.
It is not known if Santa has a companion at home, so he could be at risk of feeling lonely, they added.
Loneliness and social isolation can be just as bad for his health and wellbeing as having a chronic condition.
He also experiences a lot of work stress, as well as sleep deprivation in the week leading upto Christmas.
“Santa Claus embodies what should be the happiest time of the year, and he is loved by children all over the world,” said Helen Stokes-Lampard, Chair of the RCGPs.
“Although he sets a brilliant example of good behaviour and teaches the importance of giving rather than receiving, he could probably do more to encourage healthy lifestyles – something youngsters and adults alike can benefit from,” said Stokes-Lampard.
“Santa is almost certainly living with multiple morbidities, which, if left untreated, can become increasingly distressing and debilitating,” she said.
Having a tipple of sherry at every house around the world in one night is a serious case of binge-drinking, which we know is incredibly dangerous, according to the experts.
“We’re concerned that over the years he is likely developed a significant addiction. If left untreated, this could lead to immune system dysfunction, cirrhosis of the liver, pancreatitis or brain damage, not to mention bad skin and strong body odour,” they said.
“The human body can only process one unit of alcohol per hour, which means excessive consumption could make Santa drunk very quickly,” Stokes-Lampard said.
“This not only increases the likelihood of him slipping in the snow or mixing up important presents, but could also lead to long-term issues affecting his mood and mental health,” she said.
“In the meantime, I would recommend that Santa gives the sherry a miss this year – and maybe asks Rudolph if he can share his carrots,” she added. (AGENCIES)
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RESEARCH-ROBOTS-SPACE
Robots learn how to respect humans’ personal space
WASHINGTON, Dec 24:
Scientists are teaching mobile robots how to respect the personal space of humans beings and avoid collisions with them.
“Humans respect social zones during different kinds of interactions,” according to Daniel Herrera, a postdoctoral researcher at the National University of San Juan in Argentina.
Specifics of a task and situation, as well as cultural expectations and personal preferences, influence the distance of social zones.
“When a robot follows a human as part of a formation, it is supposed that it must also respect these social zones to improve its social acceptance,” said Herrera.
Using impedance control, researchers aimed to regulate the social dynamics between the robot’s movements and the interactions of the robot’s environment.
They did this by first analysing how a human leader and a human follower interact on a set track with well-defined borders.
The feedback humans use to adjust their behaviors – letting someone know they’re following too closely, for example – was marked as social forces and treated as defined physical fields.
The human interactions (leading and following), including the estimated social forces, were fed to a mobile robot. The programmed robot then followed the human within the same defined borders, but without impeding on the social forces defined by the human interactions.
“Under the hypothesis that moving like human will be acceptable by humans, it is believed that the proposed control improves the social acceptance of the robot for this kind of interaction,” said Herrera.
The researchers posit that robots are more likely to be accepted if they can be programmed to respect and respond like humans in social interactions.
In this experiment, the robot mimicked the following human, and avoided the leader’s personal space.
“The results show that the robot is capable of emulating the previously identified impedance and, consequently, it is believed that the proposed control can improve the social acceptance by being able to imitate this human-human dynamic behavior,” researchers said. (AGENCIES)
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