Christie to doc: 'shut up' about my weight

SEA GIRT, N.J. -- Gov. Chris Christie lashed out Wednesday at a former White House physician who said she worries about the governor dying in office because he is so heavy, telling her to "shut up."

Dr. Connie Mariano, who took care of presidents from 1992 to 2001, told CNN she'd like to see Christie run for the White House in 2016 but that he needs to lose weight. She said she worries he could have a heart attack or stroke.

"I'm worried about this man dying in office," the doctor, who has a practice in Scottsdale, Ariz., told the network.

During a visit yesterday to a shore town devastated by superstorm Sandy, Christie was asked about the doctor's comments. Unless Mariano gives him a physical exam and learns his family history, "she should shut up," the governor said.

Christie's children heard the doctor's comments, and his preteen son asked him if he was going to die, the governor said.

"She's just another hack looking for her five minutes," Christie said.

Mariano stood by her long-distance evaluation. "You don't have to be a doctor to see that he is obese,'' she told Bloomberg News. -- AP