Santa's Christmas Eve diet - how much sherry he will drink in Leeds and how many mince pie calories he will consume

National World has carried out some very scientific number-crunching to find out just how excessive a night is in store for old Kris Kringle while households up and down the country are sleeping on Christmas Eve.

Boys and girls in the UK traditionally leave out a mince pie and a glass of sherry to help their favourite gift-giver through his very demanding delivery shift, alongside a carrot for Rudolph – although some might opt for milk, or even a distinctively non-traditional pint of beer. Mum and dad’s tastes have no bearing on what is left out, of course.

How many sherries will Santa be drinking when he visits Leeds?

Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates put the number of households with children in Leeds at 98,500 as of 2021.

Sherry typically has a strength of 17.5% ABV – at least, that is, according to a scan of the offering on shelves at major UK supermarkets. That would mean that if every Leeds household with children leaves him a 50 ml serving, Santa can expect to guzzle his way through 86,188 units during his travels in the city tonight. That is more than 6,156 times his recommended weekly limit of 14 units.

If everybody opted to leave him a stronger 20% glass, he would be 7,036 times over the weekly threshold and almost certainly not in a fit state to be driving a flying sleigh.

In total, Father Christmas will be getting through 4,925 litres of liquor in Leeds alone – the equivalent of more 61.6 bath tubs full.

What about the mince pies?

We have also crunched the numbers on the 98,500 mince pies Santa might find himself tucking into as he visits Leeds, to find out what it means for his waistline – and we can only assume he will be joining the rest of us in signing up for a gym membership come January 1.

All those pies will equate to more than 21.5 million calories, based on average of own brand mince pies at Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s. Adult men typically need about 2,000 calories per day. That means Santa will be eating almost 10,786 times more than his recommended intake – or enough calories to last him 30 years, even before you take into account the calories in his liquid refreshments

In terms of sugar content, these mountain of mince pies waiting for him Leeds contain more than 1.4 million grams, or the equivalent of 289,098 rounded teaspoons of sugar. And when it comes to fat, he can expect to consume 785,538 grams.

Let’s assume Santa is 5ft 10in and 15 stone (the minimum weight needed to classify the famously portly fellow as obese on Body Mass Index charts). This would mean he is set to eat 124 times his body weight in fat in Leeds alone. It doesn’t leave much room for his Christmas dinner...