# The President's Physical. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 17, 2018, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-presidents-physical/806785 "2018-01-17T00:18:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-presidents-physical/806785/101 "2018-01-19T00:30:24Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Its interesting that we haven’t had very many obese Presidents. Taft is the most well known. > > Clinton battled his weight. Constantly jogging throughout his political career. Bush and Obama were very fit. Teddy R. was a bit on the chunky side when he left office. His weight loss routine consisted of going on a laborious, several month-long, life-threatening trip in an uncharted area of the South American jungle! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-presidents-physical/806785/102 "2018-01-19T00:47:27Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Trump’s inarticulateness isn’t just that he uses a 4th grade vocabulary. His grammar is mangled; he speaks in fragmented and often incoherent sentences; he repeats and/or contradicts himself incessantly; he rambles from topic to topic; and in general his speech is just a lot of word salad. By all accounts, he didn’t talk like that back in the day. you can see he didn’t - interviews from 20 years ago show him able to speak like a normal adult. one without dementia - now? he can only speak normally when he sticks to a script. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-presidents-physical/806785/103 "2018-01-19T00:56:41Z")
> [@John\_Bredin](#): > > Agree about weight but not necessarily height. I’ve never gone to the physician without a nurse weighing me (and checking my temperature and blood pressure\*) but the nurse merely asks me for my height along with do I smoke or drink, have I fallen, etc. Mind you, I’m only 45 so I haven’t gotten into serious shrinkage 🙂 territory yet. Same here. I don’t recall being measured for my height at my annual physical. Definitely weighed, though. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-presidents-physical/806785/104 "2018-01-19T02:15:22Z")
Sorry, I’m not convinced by any arguments about his health. I don’t see any reason for the doctor to falsify records and just because Trump is lazy and eats crap doesn’t mean he is not in excellent health. The most important risk factor for disease is genetics. I know healthy active 40 year olds who eat right, exercise daily and drop dead of a heart attack or die from cancer. OTOH, I have patients who don’t take care of themselves at all who live to be 100. Trump has a few things going for him. He doesn’t smoke or drink and his blood pressure and sugar are excellent. I have no problem believing that he is in excellent health for a man his age. The parts I have trouble believing: That he lasted very long on the treadmill considering how little he exercises (although he certainly could be above average for someone his age) That he scored a perfect 30/30 on his mental status testing That a doctor would state that he expects him to remain healthy through this term and the next (7 years is a long time at his age when the risk of disease increases dramatically; this statement screams “Trump wrote it”). I have no trouble believing that he got lucky in the gene pool lottery and have no reason to doubt the data in the report. In fact, every time I think to myself that being President would serve Trump right seeing as how his predecessors aged dramatically in the job, I have to remind myself that this was because they felt the burden and responsibility of the office, which Trump does not. He doesn’t feel the stress so it doesn’t affect his health. Regarding the vitamin D statements: > [@](#): > > Apparently Vitamin D deficiency is common in the elderly. (You knew that, right?) Mine is low (I’m a year younger than thump), and I live in the sunbelt. Even with all his golfing, thump is afflicted with it, too. Again, there are no good studies showing that supplementing vitamin D improves length or quality of life. Sure, some diseases are associated with lower levels but correlation /= causation. We don’t even know what a normal level really is. Some studies show that African American women have markedly lower vitamin D levels than those of other ethnicities [cite](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16549493) yet their bone densities tend to be higher. Is this level “normal” for them? Do we supplement regardless? [Here](http://www.jabfm.org/content/22/6/698.full) is an actual summary from a peer-reviewed journal, albeit from 2009, that gives a good summary of the data. I am not saying not to check and treat vitamin D deficiency, because it may turn out to be useful but I think that a lot of doctors have jumped on the vitamin D bandwagon because it is something they can “fix” easily. It reminds me of several years ago when antioxidants were all the rage and everybody was taking vitamin C and vitamin E supplements-until it turned out that high levels of vitamin E could increase the risk of hemorrhagic stroke [cite](http://www.bmj.com/content/341/bmj.c5702) and prostate cancer [cite](https://www.cancer.gov/types/prostate/research/select-trial-results-qa). The takeaway-vitamin D is likely helpful in people with osteoporosis and may be helpful in other diseases but again it may prove to be harmful at higher doses also. There is no good medical evidence supporting routine testing or supplementation of vitamin D but it is probably not harmful to supplement to within what is currently considered the “normal” range. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-presidents-physical/806785/105 "2018-01-19T02:23:08Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Y’all are just a bunch of Girthers. Where’s the wide-form girth certificate? ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-presidents-physical/806785/106 "2018-01-19T03:37:31Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > I didn’t watch the news conference. Was the Doctor asked if he himself took the height / weight measurements? **Was he asked about the misspelled name?** > [@Folly](#): > > Still curious about these questions if anyone knows. Regarding my bolded above, so am I. > [@Dr. Ronnie Jackson aka Ronny Jackson MD](#): > > It’s called genetics. Some people have just great genes. I told the president that if he had a healthier diet over the last 20 years he might live to be 200 years old. Of course he might, he’s TRUMP. “I have the best life span, believe me.” > [@NPR article on the press conference](#): > > What about that time the president seemed to slur his words during a speech on Jerusalem? Jackson blamed a dry mouth, possibly caused by a decongestant. Experiencing dry mouth over the years, NEVER has it caused me to slur my words. Experiencing people slurring their words over the years, NEVER was it because of dry mouth. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-presidents-physical/806785/107 "2018-01-19T05:18:45Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Teddy R. was a bit on the chunky side when he left office. His weight loss routine consisted of going on a laborious, several month-long, life-threatening trip in an uncharted area of the South American jungle! :eek: Yea, PBS, American Experience. A bunch of POTUS were not necessarily fit, but had thin frames. I am willing to bet JFK wasn’t as fit as he looked, with his illnesses and back probs. LBJ looked flabby. Reagan was a big man, but older and less active. Carter looked thin. Both Bushes looked thinnish. Trump is a fat ass. Good genes or not his heart will eventually fail him. If he lives thru his term he will age quickly afterwards. He won’t have the luxury of the former prez. who are alive now, to go quietly into his dotage. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-presidents-physical/806785/108 "2018-01-19T05:55:11Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by **MacCat** : > Experiencing dry mouth over the years, NEVER has it caused me to slur my words. Experiencing people slurring their words over the years, NEVER was it because of dry mouth. It might not be dry mouth exactly that was the cause it could simply be the interaction between a decongestant and antihistamine, they can have side effects like slurred speech and mental confusion. Obviously we aren’t privy to the actual cause though but its not like there aren’t other possibilities. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-presidents-physical/806785/109 "2018-01-19T06:01:21Z")
He says he doesnt imbibe in alcohol. I wonder if this means no wine at dinner? Or just no drinks at the bar. Or tea-totaller for real? (Er…diet coke, I mean) ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-presidents-physical/806785/110 "2018-01-19T10:31:07Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > I know it’s hard to take but I accept that Trump is in very good health. I don’t speak for everyone, but I personally don’t care about Trump’s health (other than his neurological health). Trump has a long history of lying and gaslighting to protect his fragile ego, and a long history of making other people lie and gaslight to protect his ego (spicer trying to convince journalists that a million people showed up to Trump’s inauguration for example). The issue isn’t Trump’s health, the issue is that as Americans yet another institution we used to be able to trust is now questionable. But more than that, Ronny Jackson is a physician and an admiral. He also isn’t a political appointee. If an admiral was intimidated into falsifying medical reports, then he shouldn’t be an admiral. When does it end, what if Trump tries to intimidate a general into lying and saying North Korea just launched a missile at us. At Trump’s age, about 75% of people suffer from hypertension. [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Alejandro\_Diaz3/publication/293483097/figure/fig3/AS:328303509557256@1455285064527/FIGURE-3-Pooled-hypertension-prevalence-by-age-group-for-20-studies-included-in.png](https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Alejandro_Diaz3/publication/293483097/figure/fig3/AS:328303509557256@1455285064527/FIGURE-3-Pooled-hypertension-prevalence-by-age-group-for-20-studies-included-in.png) Of the remaining 25%, I’d assume a lot have pre-hypertension. Trump doesn’t even have prehypertension. Trump has a large waist (large waist is a good proxy for BMI to determine metabolic health), eats a poor diet, doesn’t exercise, has chronic anger issues, probably has no social support (narcissists tend to not have meaningful social relationships), and possibly has poor sleep issues. Sure it is possible that someone with all those check marks against them is in the ~1/8 of 71 year olds who do not have hypertension and pre-hypertension. But things like this make some of us question the validity of the tests. But again, I couldn’t care less about Trump’s physical health (other than his neurological health). I care that things have gotten so bad that we can’t trust anything anymore. I also care that a 2 star military officer may have let himself be intimidated into lying about something idiotic. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-presidents-physical/806785/111 "2018-01-19T11:59:08Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Of the remaining 25%, I’d assume a lot have pre-hypertension. Trump doesn’t even have prehypertension. _raises hand_ Some of us have life-long hypotension. Now that I’m old(\*) I’m finally being told “your BP is normal, well, a bit low”, after decades of “OMG how are you standing you should be in the hospital!” I’m not allowed to give blood due to low BP, as their requirements are a bit more stringent than for the yearly checkups. In my case it’s definitely genetic, family history of ground-floor-level BP on both sides of the family. (\*) 50yo next March 😛 ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-presidents-physical/806785/112 "2018-01-19T13:35:59Z")
I am surprised that the TV shows I’ve seen (Trevor Noah and Colbert) only focus on the extra inch of growth. Neither of them have done like people upthread have and shown Trump standing next to people 6’3" or shorter. The guy is at most 6’. The “medical” report is a joke. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-presidents-physical/806785/113 "2018-01-19T15:05:21Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > _raises hand_ Some of us have life-long hypotension. Now that I’m old(\*) I’m finally being told “your BP is normal, well, a bit low”, after decades of “OMG how are you standing you should be in the hospital!” I’m not allowed to give blood due to low BP, as their requirements are a bit more stringent than for the yearly checkups. In my case it’s definitely genetic, family history of ground-floor-level BP on both sides of the family. > > (\*) 50yo next March 😛 It is entirely possible. Trump’s parents lived to 93 and 88, so he has decent genetics. For me it is more that yet another institution that we used to be able to trust has now become questionable, and Trump is possibly intimidating military officers into lying on his behalf. If a high ranking military officer will lie on Trump’s behalf about his height, weight and health then what is to stop military officers from lying about national security threats? ---
**Author:** ![GythaOgg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/49beb7/32.png) [@GythaOgg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GythaOgg)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-presidents-physical/806785/114 "2018-01-19T15:31:12Z")
I’d like to point out that 99 is not an ‘excellent’ fasting blood sugar. 80 would be an excellent fasting blood sugar; 99 is is only one point under the level where we consider it to be a problem - particularly since his cholesterol is high, he’s just shy of being obese (if you take his word about his height), and his waistline likely isn’t where it should be, either. I would consider him at high risk for developing problems like prediabetes and cardiovascular disease - if he doesn’t make some changes to his diet and activity level. Genetics help, but they only carry you so far - just like lifestyle only carries you so far if you don’t have good genetics. It goes both ways. And also, both his parents were much thinner than he is. We don’t know what their genetics were in relationship to how they would have functioned as overweight or obese, medically. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-presidents-physical/806785/115 "2018-01-19T17:00:34Z")
The fact that his blood sugar was exactly 1 point below pre-diabetes and his bodyweight is exactly 1 pound below obese (among many other things) make the results questionable. Also, a fasting blood glucose of 99 probably isn’t bad for an obese 71 year old who has a terrible lifestyle (assuming the glucose readings are true). ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-presidents-physical/806785/116 "2018-01-19T17:11:11Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > The fact that his blood sugar was exactly 1 point below pre-diabetes and his bodyweight is exactly 1 pound below obese (among many other things) make the results questionable. > > Also, a fasting blood glucose of 99 probably isn’t bad for an obese 71 year old who has a terrible lifestyle (assuming the glucose readings are true). Was thump’s a1c score posted anywhere? The doc said it was normal, but I’d like to know exactly what it was. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-presidents-physical/806785/117 "2018-01-19T17:16:30Z")
Even if you buy this bullshit that it is normal for a doctor to take your word as to your height and weight during a complete physical(instead of doing his job), you still have to contend with the facts that: 1. The Doc didn’t find it strange that the Prez grew at least one inch since his last exam, and 2. The Doc had the Prez standing right in front of him and couldn’t tell that he _wasn’t_ 6’3" tall. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-presidents-physical/806785/118 "2018-01-19T17:20:48Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Even if you buy this bullshit that it is normal for a doctor to take your word as to your height and weight during a complete physical(instead of doing his job), you still have to contend with the facts that: > > 1. The Doc didn’t find it strange that the Prez grew at least one inch since his last exam, and > **2. The Doc had the Prez standing right in front of him and couldn’t tell that he _wasn’t_ 6’3" tall.** People look taller when you have a collapsible spine. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-presidents-physical/806785/119 "2018-01-19T17:27:13Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > For me it is more that yet another institution that we used to be able to trust has now become questionable, and Trump is possibly intimidating military officers into lying on his behalf. If a high ranking military officer will lie on Trump’s behalf about his height, weight and health then what is to stop military officers from lying about national security threats? I agree. I thought going into it that we’d get an honest assessment from a trustworthy source. Instead, we got a lot of gushing and puffery and extremely questionable (if not obviously false) height and weight stats. So an admiral was willing to prostitute himself because like everybody else in this administration, integrity must be left at the door on entry. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-presidents-physical/806785/120 "2018-01-19T17:28:06Z")
Is it falsifying a medical report if the patient gives you highly questionable info that you have the immediate means/duty to verify, but you write down this info as fact in your report? Last time I took a physical, there was no places to put “Reported Weight” or “Reported Height” on the report. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-presidents-physical/806785.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-presidents-physical/806785.md?page=7)