Trump weight gain: Experts warn POTUS' obesity poses ‘strong risk factor,' claim he's ‘playing with fire’

Doctors have warned that President Donald Trump’s weight gain is “a strong risk factor” for his health. He has reportedly put on 23 pounds in three years.

Published on: Aug 24, 2026, 13:33:45 IST

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Doctors have warned that President Donald Trump’s weight gain is “a strong risk factor” for his health. He has put on 23 pounds in three years, according to a report.

The Washington Post reported that Trump, a known fan of McDonald’s and Diet Coke, weighed approximately 238 pounds at his physical exam in May – 14 pounds more than last year and 23 pounds more than the 215 pounds he was listed at in 2023, documented when he was arrested in Georgia.

“We know that obesity is a strong risk factor for numerous health issues — as well as premature disability and death,” Dr. Scott Kahan, the director of the National Center for Weight and Wellness, told the outlet. “Addressing obesity to protect the president’s health should be a priority similar to ensuring Secret Service protections for his life.”

Similar sentiments were expressed by other medical experts.

Dr. Stuart Fischer, a former emergency room doctor and current internist, told the Daily Mail in June, “Someone has got to really quietly sit down and talk with him, and say, ‘You're playing with fire.’”

“The fact that his doctors haven't gotten through to him about weight, to me, is kind of interesting,” Fischer added. “It should be concerning.”

Trump and the White House, however, have continued to brush off concerns about the president’s mental and physical acuity.

“President Trump’s sharpness, unmatched energy, relentless work ethic and historic accessibility stand in stark contrast to what we saw during the last administration when Democrats and the legacy media intentionally covered up Joe Biden’s serious mental and physical decline from the American people,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle told the Post. “President Trump is the sharpest and most accessible President in American history who is working nonstop to solve problems and deliver on his promises.”

Other officials, however, have expressed concerns about Trump’s weight.

Earlier this year, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told podcaster Katie Miller that Trump’s dietary habits were unhinged.

“The interesting thing about the president is that he eats really bad food, which is McDonald’s, and, you then know, candy and Diet Coke. He drinks Diet Coke at all times. He has the constitution of a deity. I don’t know how he’s alive, but he is,” Kennedy said.

Does Donald Trump acknowledge his weight?

Trump has acknowledged his weight through jokes. While announcing new policies to make GLP-1s more accessible in June, he claimed that he had not taken a weight loss drug but added, “I probably should.”

During an appearance on Usha Vance’s podcast in July, Trump compared his weight to that of former President William Howard Taft. “He was our heaviest president, and I have to be careful because I don’t want to supersede his record,” he joked.

During Trump’s first term, his weight came into focus as he weighed 243, putting him in the “obese” category for his height of 6 ft 3 in. At the time, he told his physician Dr. Ronny Jackson that he would “like to lose 10 to 15 pounds” through dieting, per the Independent.

Trump appeared visibly thinner after he left the White House in 2021.

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