Doctors have sounded the alarm that President Donald Trump’s recent weight gain could pose significant risks to his health, months after the White House acknowledged that he had gained 14lb since his previous physical.

Scott Kahan, a physician and director of the National Center for Weight and Wellness, told The Washington Post that addressing obesity to protect the president’s health “should be a priority similar to ensuring Secret Service protections for his life”. A White House medical report in May said the 6ft 3in president weighed 238lb, putting his body mass index (BMI) just 0.3 points below the threshold for obesity.

BMI is widely used as a measure of healthy weight, although it is not considered a definitive diagnostic tool. “We know that obesity is a strong risk factor for numerous health issues—as well as premature disability and death,” Dr Kahan told the Post.

David Kessler, a former head of the US Food and Drug Administration, also spoke to the Post about the health risks associated with being overweight, although he did not comment specifically on Trump. “That fat around the midsection — that visceral adiposity — is fat around our liver, pancreas, our heart where it doesn’t belong,” he said.

Trump, 80, has long been known for his preference for fast food, particularly McDonald’s, and has spoken openly about his lack of interest in exercise.

Joe Gruters, a Florida state lawmaker and chairman of the Republican National Committee, previously described Trump’s eating habits while on the campaign trail. “He had hot fries waiting for him from McDonald’s. Then he had a Filet-O-Fish, a Quarter Pounder, and a Big Mac, and I think he combined two of them,” Gruters told a local government podcast. “I’m thinking to myself, how does the guy that’s as senior as him get away with eating all this McDonald’s on a consistent basis?”

Trump’s weight has fluctuated in recent years. In 2024, he appeared noticeably slimmer than during the latter part of his first term, when he was clinically obese with a BMI of 30.5 and weighed 244lb.

His weight has since moved closer to that level.

Trump himself referred to his weight last month while discussing former President William Howard Taft, who is widely regarded as the heaviest US president.

“He was a large man, very large,” Trump said of Taft. “He loved baseball. He’d go to baseball games, loved the hot dogs at the baseball games. He was our heaviest president. And I have to be careful because I don’t want to supersede his record. And a thing like that would be possible if I allowed it to happen.”

Trump’s health has previously been the subject of public scrutiny, including questions about bruising on his hands, swollen ankles and occasions when he has appeared to fall asleep at public events.

Administration officials have played down those concerns, while White House communications officials have previously described Trump as the “sharpest, most accessible and energetic” president.