Obama 'in excellent health' physical shows

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama is in excellent health and tobacco free, his doctor said yesterday on the results of the president's second physical exam since taking office.

In a two-page report released by the White House, Dr. Jeffrey C. Kuhlman said Obama is physically active, eats a healthy diet, stays at a healthy weight, and on occasion drinks alcohol in moderation.

"The president is in excellent health and 'fit for duty,' " Kuhlman wrote. "All clinical data indicate he will remain so for the duration of his presidency."

Obama, who turned 50 in August, seems to have improved his health on some fronts since his last physical, which Kuhlman conducted in February 2010. Kuhlman said then that Obama should stick with "smoking cessation efforts," and also said his cholesterol level had crept to borderline high and he should alter his diet accordingly.

Obama, who chewed nicotine gun, appears to have quit smoking entirely -- an achievement his wife, Michelle Obama, announced earlier this year.

And his cholesterol is now described as "ideal." Obama's total cholesterol level now stands at 193, compared with 209 in February 2010. His LDL, or bad cholesterol, is now 110, down from 138 in February 2010.

Obama frequently works out and plays basketball and golfs.

The physical was conducted last week at the White House. Kuhlman, a Navy captain, recommended that the president have his next physical in December 2012.

The president is 6-foot-1 and weighs 181.3 pounds, the report said. His blood pressure was recorded at 107 over 71, up from 105 over 62 in February 2010, but well within the normal range.

The doctor said Obama's vision was 20/20 in both eyes for both distance and near vision.

Later this week, Obama will arrive in Cannes, France, for his fifth world economic summit.

All eyes at the meeting of leaders from the 20 largest industrial and developing nations will be on the urgency of Europe's debt crisis and whether the continent's ambitious plan to save the euro can keep the crisis from contaminating other economies.