Doctors raise concerns over Trump’s weight and health markers, report says
Key Takeaways
- •The Washington Post reported that Trump’s weight has increased in recent medical records and may be nearly 25 pounds higher than during his last presidential campaign.
- •The report said Trump weighed 238 pounds in May and gained 14 pounds between his two most recent annual medical checkups.
- •Doctors quoted in the article said obesity and excess abdominal fat are associated with serious health risks, including premature death.
- •Trump and people around him have previously expressed concern about his junk food diet and limited physical exercise.
- •Trump has publicly said he would like to lose 15 to 20 pounds.
A health marker doctors say can indicate premature death has reportedly been rising in President Donald Trump’s medical records, according to a new report.
The Washington Post reported that doctors are increasingly concerned Trump, 80, may have gained nearly 25 pounds since his last presidential campaign. The report said Trump weighed 238 pounds in May and that he gained 14 pounds between his most recent annual medical checkups.
Scott Kahan, director of the National Center for Weight and Wellness, said, "Obesity is a strong risk factor for numerous health issues,” adding that it is also linked to "premature disability and death."
The Washington Post said doctors consider body mass index a flawed measure of health, but noted that Trump’s doctors, family members and Trump himself have expressed concern about his "junk food" diet and lack of physical exercise. The reporting lands as public scrutiny over presidential health remains unusually high, since age, weight and other basic markers are among the few routinely discussed data points available to the public.
“The one thing I would like to do is be able to drop 15, 20 pounds,” Trump told Mehmet Oz, the former reality show host described by experts as a " quack grifter " who now is in charge of Medicare and Medicaid.
The Washington Post also quoted Trump’s remarks about his weight at the White House correspondents' dinner last month: "I would never call anybody fat...I have my own problems, you know?"
That portrayal is not consistent with a compilation of clips produced by NBC News:
"This is somebody who likes to eat," Trump once said of a beauty queen who had gained weight.
"I mention food stamps and that guy who's seriously overweight went crazy," Trump said of a protester being dragged away by security guards at a rally.
"Does she have a good body? No," Trump said of Kim Kardashian. "Does she have a fat a--? Absolutely."
Of Rosie O'Donnell, Trump has said, "I'd look at her right in her fat, ugly face and say, 'You're fired."
David Kessler, former head of the Food and Drug Administration, said he was deeply concerned about excess body fat around the middle of the body.
“That visceral adiposity — is fat around our liver, pancreas, our heart where it doesn’t belong,” Kessler said, adding that it also raises concerns about "premature death."
