AFP, Washington :
President Donald Trump is a little heavier than last year and needs a higher dose of cholesterol medicine, but remains in “very good health,” his official doctor said Thursday.
The presidential physician, Sean Conley, said Trump, 72, passed his medical exam last week with flying colors.
“It is my determination that the president remains in very good health overall,” he said in a brief statement.
Trump, who has confounded health experts with his penchant for junk food and avoidance of strenuous exercise, weighs 243 pounds (110 kg), the report said.
This is a little bulkier than the 239 pounds recorded last year, which was already considered too much. The resting heart rate has gone up too at 70 beats a minute, compared to 68 beats last year.
Trump has a history of high cholesterol and this year the dosage of his anti-cholesterol medicine Rosuvastatin was raised from a low 10mg a day to 40mg, Conley said.
“There were no findings of significance or changes to report on his physical exam, including the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, teeth/gums, heart, lungs, skin, gastrointestinal, and neurologic systems,” Conley’s medical summary said.
Trump may have an unhealthy lifestyle and a stressful job, but on the plus side he doesn’t smoke and is a noted teetotaler. He says he’s never even had a beer.
Trump has described his chief exercise as walking around the White House compound and standing up at public events. A slightly more active pastime is his beloved golf.
Trump, 72, stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 243 pounds, according the memorandum. The president’s weight was reported as 239 pounds last year, and he was advised to watch his diet, exercise more and lose weight.
Trump’s new weight pushes his body mass index over 30, the threshold for obesity. Trump joins 40 percent of American adults over age 20 who fit into that category, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Still, Trump’s medical report suggests he is in relatively good health compared to other people his age.
But Mariell Jessup, chief science and medical officer of the American Heart Association said the data released by Trump’s physician show a “lucky” older man with relatively low risk for cardiovascular disease. Jessup plugged the data released by Trump’s physician into the American Heart Association’s risk calculator and found that Trump has a 17 percent chance of developing cardiovascular disease in the next decade.
“His blood pressure being in the normal range has helped him, and his cholesterol – though not perfect – is quite good,” Jessup said. “I think he is lucky, and it points out what we’ve often said: if you can get to the age of 50 in this country and have no major risk factors for cardiovascular disease, the odds are you will live a long time, free of cardiovascular disease.”
Jessup noted that obesity was an important risk factor for diabetes and high blood pressure, but that in the absence of either of those conditions, there was debate about the importance of the obesity threshold in older adults.
The only change noted to Trump’s medication regimen was an increase in the dosage of a cholesterol-lowering drug.
He also received the shingles vaccine, which has been in shortage for months, and a vaccine against pneumococcal disease.
Conley’s language about Trump – “very good health overall”- was less effusive than the language used last year by Trump’s former doctor, Navy Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson.
Jackson, the White House’s chief medical adviser, described Trump’s overall health as “excellent,” adding that the president had “good genes” and was “very healthy.”
Both Jackson and Conley said they expected Trump to remain healthy for the duration of his presidency
President Donald Trump is a little heavier than last year and needs a higher dose of cholesterol medicine, but remains in “very good health,” his official doctor said Thursday.
The presidential physician, Sean Conley, said Trump, 72, passed his medical exam last week with flying colors.
“It is my determination that the president remains in very good health overall,” he said in a brief statement.
Trump, who has confounded health experts with his penchant for junk food and avoidance of strenuous exercise, weighs 243 pounds (110 kg), the report said.
This is a little bulkier than the 239 pounds recorded last year, which was already considered too much. The resting heart rate has gone up too at 70 beats a minute, compared to 68 beats last year.
Trump has a history of high cholesterol and this year the dosage of his anti-cholesterol medicine Rosuvastatin was raised from a low 10mg a day to 40mg, Conley said.
“There were no findings of significance or changes to report on his physical exam, including the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, teeth/gums, heart, lungs, skin, gastrointestinal, and neurologic systems,” Conley’s medical summary said.
Trump may have an unhealthy lifestyle and a stressful job, but on the plus side he doesn’t smoke and is a noted teetotaler. He says he’s never even had a beer.
Trump has described his chief exercise as walking around the White House compound and standing up at public events. A slightly more active pastime is his beloved golf.
Trump, 72, stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 243 pounds, according the memorandum. The president’s weight was reported as 239 pounds last year, and he was advised to watch his diet, exercise more and lose weight.
Trump’s new weight pushes his body mass index over 30, the threshold for obesity. Trump joins 40 percent of American adults over age 20 who fit into that category, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Still, Trump’s medical report suggests he is in relatively good health compared to other people his age.
But Mariell Jessup, chief science and medical officer of the American Heart Association said the data released by Trump’s physician show a “lucky” older man with relatively low risk for cardiovascular disease. Jessup plugged the data released by Trump’s physician into the American Heart Association’s risk calculator and found that Trump has a 17 percent chance of developing cardiovascular disease in the next decade.
“His blood pressure being in the normal range has helped him, and his cholesterol – though not perfect – is quite good,” Jessup said. “I think he is lucky, and it points out what we’ve often said: if you can get to the age of 50 in this country and have no major risk factors for cardiovascular disease, the odds are you will live a long time, free of cardiovascular disease.”
Jessup noted that obesity was an important risk factor for diabetes and high blood pressure, but that in the absence of either of those conditions, there was debate about the importance of the obesity threshold in older adults.
The only change noted to Trump’s medication regimen was an increase in the dosage of a cholesterol-lowering drug.
He also received the shingles vaccine, which has been in shortage for months, and a vaccine against pneumococcal disease.
Conley’s language about Trump – “very good health overall”- was less effusive than the language used last year by Trump’s former doctor, Navy Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson.
Jackson, the White House’s chief medical adviser, described Trump’s overall health as “excellent,” adding that the president had “good genes” and was “very healthy.”
Both Jackson and Conley said they expected Trump to remain healthy for the duration of his presidency
