Trump undergoing annual presidential physical exam

US President Donald Trump is receiving his annual medical check-up at a military hospital outside Washington DC, a year after his physician suggested he lose a few pounds and exercise more.

The physical exam at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, state of Maryland, is expected to last more than three hours Friday afternoon, according to the White House, Xinhua news agency reported.

Sean Conley, a Navy veteran and doctor of osteopathic medicine who is the president's physician, is overseeing the exam, which is expected to include basic lab tests, screening tests for age-related disease and other health assessments.

The results could be released late Friday or in the coming days.

Trump's physical last year was performed by Ronny Jackson, then physician of the president, who made headlines when reporting Trump was in "excellent" health with "great genes" and was "mentally very sharp."

The test also showed that Trump, 6-foot-3 and weighing at 239 pounds at that time, had a coronary calcium score consistent with heart disease and presented a high level of LDL, known as "bad cholesterol."

The US President is known to have taken a statin drug designated to lower his cholesterol.

Jackson had suggested 72-year-old Trump, who enjoys fast food and doesn't exercise regularly beyond golf, lose a few pounds and exercise more, but the president hasn't followed the advice.

"The President received a diet and exercise plan last year after his annual physical, but the President admits he has not followed it religiously," Hogan Gidley, White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary, told CNN this week.

Jackson was previously nominated by Trump to lead the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs before he withdrew after allegations of misconduct during his service in the White House surfaced, which he has denied.

Last week, Trump named Jackson as assistant to the president and chief medical adviser and nominated him for a promotion to a two-star admiral in the US Navy despite an ongoing investigation by the Pentagon into Jackson's alleged wrongdoings.

--IANS

vin/