President Donald Trump is officially overweight, his physician revealed Tuesday.
Dr. Ronny Jackson, the White House physician who also served Barack Obama, declared Trump to be in ‘excellent health’ but he advised him to improve his diet and exercise.
‘He has a lot of energy and a lot of stamina,’ Jackson said of the 71-year-old-president.
According to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, Trump has a BMI of 30.3, making him obese. The CDC has him teetering on the edge of obesity at 29.9.
The president is cognitively sound, Jackson said, after giving Trump an assessment that screens for issues like Alzheimer’s, saying that he believes the president to be mentally ‘sharp.’
President Donald Trump is officially overweight, his physician revealed Tuesday
Trump’s cognitive assessment came at the president’s request, Jackson told White House reporters during a televised briefing.
He scored a 30/30 on the test, Jackson said, and there was ‘no indication that he has cognitive issues.’
‘He’s very sharp. He’s very articulate when he speaks to me,’ Jackson said.
Trump does not drink alcohol, he confirmed, and does not use tobacco products.
In terms of medications, he continues to take Propecia, for male hair loss, one for Rosacea and a multivitamin.
President Trump had a weight of 239 pounds and a height of 75 inches, Jackson said. That makes him overweight at best or obese by industry standards.
He does not have a dedicated or defined exercise program, Jackson admitted.
‘We can build on that pretty easily,’ he joked.
Jackson said he will recommend a low-impact exercise routine like a stationary bike for him. Trump also plays frequent rounds of golf, which Jackson said contains a ‘certain amount’ of exercise.
Despite his sedentary lifestyle, Jackson gave Trump a glowing review, saying that life-long abstinence from tobacco and alcohol had contributed to his health.
‘He has incredibly good genes,’ Jackson also said. ‘That’s the way God made him.’
Jackson also said that Trump does not have a drug addiction of any type.
Trump is known to have indulged in McDonalds and other fast food on the campaign trail – but Jackson said he has changed his habits since becoming president and has been eating healthier.
On Air Force One, for instance, Jackson says he’s watched Trump eat the meals that everyone else does on the plane, and they tend to be on the healthier side, with the exception of the desserts.
Jackson’s stellar review of President Trump is likely to take his critics – who have been claiming he is mentally unfit for office – by surprise, particularly as they have pointed to signs of dementia, Alzheimers and other cognitive deterioration.
The White House physician said several times that there was nothing he was holding back, and that neither Trump nor his aides had coached him on what to say.
‘I can promise you there’s absolutely nothing that I’m withholding,’ he asserted.
An incident involving Trump urgently needing a glass of water and another one in which he slurred his speech are nothing to be alarmed by.
One working theory had been that Trump has dentures, but Jackson said that’s not the case. Jackson said the water-gulping incident was a result of Suddafed.