Physical finds Trump obese, otherwise OK
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has put on some pounds and is now officially considered obese.
The White House on Thursday released results of his most recent physical, revealing that his Body Mass Index is now 30.4. That’s based on the fact that he’s now carrying 243 pounds on his 6-foot, 3-inch frame. That’s up from 236 pounds in September 2016 before he became president.
An index rating of 30 is the level at which doctors consider someone obese under this commonly used formula. About 40 percent of Americans are obese, and that raises their risk for heart disease, diabetes, stroke and some forms of cancer.
Trump doesn’t drink alcohol or smoke, but he’s not a big fan of the gym either. His primary form of exercise is golf. And he says he gets plenty of walking in around the White House complex.
Despite gaining four pounds from last year, Dr. Sean Conley, the president’s physician, said the 72-year-old president “remains in very good health overall.”
His resting heart rate is 70 beats a minute and his blood pressure reading was 118 over 80, well within the normal range.
Conley said routine lab tests were performed and Trump’s liver, kidney and thyroid functions are all normal as were his electrolytes and blood counts. An electrocardiogram, a test that measures electrical activity generated by the heart as it beats, remained unchanged from last year.
“Despite the fact that he’s obese, his blood pressure is normal,” said Dr. Mariell Jessup, the Heart Association’s chief science and medical officer. Using the association’s heart risk calculator, “he has a 17 percent chance of developing cardiovascular disease in the next 10 years,” mostly because of his age and slightly elevated bad cholesterol, she said.
Modern-day presidents have undergone regular exams to catch any potential problems but also to assure the public that they are fit for office. Trump went to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center last week for his second periodic physical, which lasted about four hours. He received a flu shot and an inoculation to help prevent shingles, a viral infection that causes a painful rash.