Doctors are sounding the alarm over Donald Trump’s weight.
Physicians say the 80-year-old president’s weight gain poses a serious risk to his health, months after the White House quietly acknowledged that he had gained 14 pounds since his previous physical.
“Addressing obesity to protect the president’s health should be a priority similar to ensuring Secret Service protections for his life,” Scott Kahan, a physician and the director of the National Center for Weight and Wellness, told The Washington Post.
In May, a medical report from the White House showed that the 6-foot-3 president weighed in at 238 pounds, placing him just 0.3 BMI points below the threshold for obesity. BMI is not considered a definitive diagnostic tool, but its use is widespread.
“We know that obesity is a strong risk factor for numerous health issues—as well as premature disability and death,” Kahan stressed to the Post.
David Kessler, the former head of the Food and Drug Administration, spoke to the Post about the risks to all Americans from being overweight, while not commenting specifically on Trump.
“That fat around the midsection — that visceral adiposity — is fat around our liver, pancreas, our heart where it doesn’t belong,” he said.
Despite that, Trump appears to have little interest in his health, famously flaunting his love for McDonald’s and voicing his disinterest in exercise. In October, the chairman of the Republican National Committee recalled observing Trump’s grotesque diet on the campaign trail.
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