Doctors have warned that President Donald Trump’s weight gain is “a strong risk factor” for his health after the commander-in-chief has put on 23 poundsin three years, according to a report
Trump, a known lover of McDonald’s and Diet Coke, has long faced concerns about his overall health, including bruising on his hands and swelling of his ankles. But in the second year of his second term, doctors have warned that Trump’s weight gain needs to take priority, The Washington Postreports
The 80-year-old president weighed approximately 238 pounds at his physical exam in May – 14 pounds more than last year and 23 pounds more than the 215 pounds he was listed at in 2023, documented when he was arrested in Georgia, the newspaper noted
“We know that obesity is a strong risk factor for numerous health issues — as well as premature disability and death,” Dr. Scott Kahan, the director of the National Center for Weight and Wellness, told thePost.“Addressing obesity to protect the president’s health should be a priority similar to ensuring Secret Service protections for his life.”
Trump, who has also been reported to indulge in late-night snacking, has been recommended by his White House physicians to make better dietary choices and increase his exercise to lose weight
Other medical experts have expressed similar sentiments about the president’s weight gain
Dr. Stuart Fischer, a former emergency room doctor and current internist, told the Daily Mailin June that “Someone has got to really quietly sit down and talk with him, and say, ‘You’re playing with fire.’”
“The fact that his doctors haven’t gotten through to him about weight, to me, is kind of interesting,” Fischer told the outlet. “It should be concerning.”
Trump and the White House have brushed off concerns about the aging president’s mental and physical acuity, often comparing his energy levels to that of his predecessor, whom Trump nicknamed “Sleepy Joe.”
“President Trump’s sharpness, unmatched energy, relentless work ethic and historic accessibility stand in stark contrast to what we saw during the last administration when Democrats and the legacy media intentionally covered up Joe Biden’s serious mental and physical decline from the American people,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle told the Post. “President Trump is the sharpest and most accessible President in American history who is working nonstop to solve problems and deliver on his promises.”
The Independent has asked the White House for comment
But other officials have expressed similar concerns about Trump’s weight
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told podcaster Katie Miller earlier this yearthat Trump’s dietary habits were unhinged
“The interesting thing about the president is that he eats really bad food, which is McDonald’s, and, you then know, candy and Diet Coke. He drinks Diet Coke at all times. He has the constitution of a deity. I don’t know how he’s alive, but he is,” Kennedy said
The president has acknowledged his weight through jokes
While announcing new policies to make GLP-1s more accessible in June, the president said he had not taken a <a href="https://healthylife7.com/new-weight-loss-drug-may-burn-fat-without-muscle-loss-seen-in-glp-1-drugs/" title="New <a href="https://healthylife7.com/strength-training-is-replacing-weight-loss-as-the-top-gym-goal-thanks-to-glp-1s-how-to-do-it-right-according-to-trainers/" title="Strength training is replacing weight loss as the top gym goal thanks to GLP-1s — how to do it right, according to trainers”>weight loss drug may burn fat without muscle loss seen in GLP-1 drugs”>weight loss drug but joked, “I probably should.”
During a July appearance on Second Lady Usha Vance’s podcast,the president compared his weight to that of former President William Howard Taft
“He was our heaviest president, and I have to be careful because I don’t want to supersede his record,” Trump joked
During his first term,Trump’s weight was often criticizedbecause he weighed 243, putting him in the “obese” category for his height of 6 ft 3 in
Trump told his physician at the time, Dr. Ronny Jackson, that he would “like to lose 10 to 15 pounds” through dieting
Trump did appear visibly thinner after he left the White House in 2021
