Trump to undergo annual physical exam

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Donald Trump, who at 78 is on course to become the oldest president in American history, will undergo an annual physical exam in coming weeks, a White House statement said Saturday.

“President Donald J. Trump will complete his routine annual physical exam next month at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center,” said the announcement, dated 1 March.

“The date of his physical exam will be released publicly in the next few weeks,” said the statement, signed by his physician Sean Barbabella, a career military doctor who served in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Trump has appeared vigorous for his age, but his earlier physical exams at times raised questions about the specifics of his health data and about the transparency of results.

While Trump does not drink alcohol or smoke, he is known to enjoy fast food and steaks, and his main source of exercise appears to be golfing.

A physical during his first term, in 2018, suggested the president should aim to lose 10 to 15 pounds but was generally in “excellent health.” His doctor said there were no signs of “any cognitive issues,” and that with a healthier diet, he could “live to be 200 years old.”

A year later, an exam found the 6-foot-3 (1.9 meter) Trump weighed 110 kilograms, up seven pounds since shortly before taking office, making him technically obese. It said he was taking medication to treat high cholesterol.

During Trump’s presidential campaign in 2015, his doctor, Harold Bornstein, released a letter saying the candidate’s blood pressure was “astonishingly excellent” and that if elected, “Mr. Trump, I can state unequivocally, will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.”