Is President Trump Obese?

Amid the growing “girther” movement — AKA people requesting access to President Donald Trump’s health records — and debate surrounding the former Apprentice star’s self-appointed status as a “stable genius,” the White House physician has released an official statement on the president’s health, declaring it “excellent” overall. Yet some outside cardiologists are taking issue with the report, saying it reveals serious concerns about the president’s cholesterol and overall heart health.

At 6-foot-3 and 239 pounds, Trump’s body mass index (BMI) is 29.9, a tenth of a point shy of being labeled obese. Immediately, headlines trumpeted the president’s overweight-bordering-on-obese status, especially in light of Politico’s finding that his driver’s license lists him as 6-foot-2, which would make him officially obese. Naturally, you may be thinking: So why should we care if the president’s overweight? Let him live his life, 12 Diet Cokes a day and all! In a sense, he reflects the American public, considering 71 percent of people over the age of 20 are overweight or obese, according to the CDC.

But here’s the thing: A higher BMI has been linked to a higher risk of heart disease and high blood pressure. As imperfect as BMI is — it doesn’t take into account fat distribution, age, sex, or bone structure, as Vox reported — that doesn’t mean you can dismiss it. Or compare Trump to a 240-pound athlete. Muscle weighs more than fat, which — yes — can make a bodybuilder qualify as “obese,” even though he or she is in prime physical condition, but it isn’t just BMI that’s the concern.

Dr. David Maron, director of preventive cardiology at Stanford University’s medical school, told the The New York Times that he’d “definitely” be worried about Trump’s risk for a heart attack after reviewing the report. The big concern, to Dr. Maron, was that the president’s LDL levels are above 140, even though he’s taking Crestor, a drug that’s typically used to lower cholesterol levels below 100. When you consider that in light of his weight, it puts him at risk of having a heart attack or stroke, multiple cardiologists told the newspaper.

Dr. Eric Topol, a cardiologist at the Scripps Research Institute, said that it is impossible to ignore the dangers of the president’s elevated cholesterol levels when providing an overall assessment of Mr. Trump’s health.

“That’s a really high LDL,” Scripps Research Institute cardiologist Dr. Eric Topol said. “We’re talking about a 70-plus-year-old man who is obese and doesn’t exercise. Just looking at the lab value, you would raise a big red flag.”

Conversely, in his report on Tuesday, White House physician Dr. Ronny L. Jackson said Trump doesn’t have a lot of the traditional risk factors for heart issues, like smoking or diabetes. “I think those things, in combination with the excellent cardiac results that we got from the exercise stress test, I think, are very reassuring,” he added.

The president doesn’t have heart disease, Dr. Jackson reported. The White House stands behind Dr. Jackson’s assessment.

“He is the only doctor that has weighed in on this matter that has actually examined the president,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told the Times. Dr. Jackson has been a White House physician for 12 years, working with former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, in addition to Trump.

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