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Obama's doctor says he is in excellent health and fit to lead
"Senator Barack Obama is in overall good physical and mental health needed to maintain the resiliency required in the office of president."
- By Fool Rhee, The New York Times Service
- Published: 23:48 May 30, 2008
Washington: Barack Obama is slim and fit, ready for the physical and mental rigours of the presidency, and, at least before he started campaigning, had a remarkably low blood pressure, his personal physician said in a summary released Thursday.
Obama's most recent medical exam, in January 2007, "showed him to be in excellent health," David L. Scheiner, his doctor for the past 21 years, wrote in a one-page letter issued by the Democratic front-runner's campaign.
"Senator Barack Obama is in overall good physical and mental health needed to maintain the resiliency required in the office of president."
The only possible concerns are his family history of cancer - his mother died of ovarian cancer and a maternal grandfather died of prostate cancer - and his personal struggles with smoking.
"He has quit this practice on several occasions and is currently using Nicorette gum with success," Scheiner said.
The summary is the first public declaration Obama has made on his health. He turns 47 in August and has emphasised his relative youth as part of his campaign.
The presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain, will turn 72 in August and is trying to become the oldest person elected to a first term as president. He is banking on his experience.
And unlike the cursory summary that Obama's campaign released, McCain's campaign made available hundreds of pages of medical records a week ago to demonstrate that he is in general good health and cancer-free after four cases of melanoma.
Asked why Obama had not had a physical since January 2007 and whether any more details would be forthcoming, spokesman Bill Burton replied: "He's been on the campaign trail. Senator Obama has a clean bill of health, as this letter shows. With no surgery or hospital stays, this is a complete summary of his doctor visits and medical records for the past two decades."
Obama's recent physical found that "he exercised regularly, often jogging three miles," that his diet was "balanced with good intake of roughage and fluids," and that "his build was lean and muscular with no excess body fat." His blood pressure of 90 over 60 is comparable with the under 120 over 80 that is considered optimal.
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| This article on the national political campaigns in the United States is from The New York Times. It was specially selected and prepared by the editors of The New York Times News Service. |
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