INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
On Fitness Day In US, Donald Trump stepped into a baseball batting cage and took a swingWashington: It's Sports
and Fitness Day at the White House.That meant President Donald Trump - a man who has spoken out on the dangers of exercising and devours
McDonald's, KFC chicken, chocolate cake and double scoops of vanilla ice cream - spent his afternoon lecturing the nation on the importance
of staying fit.The fitness event Wednesday afternoon on the White House lawn focused on how much children benefit from team sports and
featured activities including flag football, baseball, golf, volleyball, soccer and track and field
For the most part, Trump avoided all of the above at the event, looking on in his suit and tie while others took part
But at one point, he appeared to step into a baseball batting cage and take a swing.The fleeting moment caught on camera was one of the rare
occasions during Trump's presidency - outside of his leisurely golf outings - where there was photographic evidence of him engaging in
exercise.Trump is perhaps the most sedentary, least healthy president in recent history.His dietary and exercise habits have alarmed some
health experts and spurred unflattering comparisons to past occupiers of the Oval Office. The fitness event on the White House lawn focused
on how much children benefit from team sportBarack Obama played basketball
Bush went mountain biking and cleared brush on his ranch
Even Bill Clinton would try to make up for his fondness for fast food with the occasional jog to McDonald's.Trump, by comparison, doesn't
simply avoid exercise - he has espoused theories about how exercise can be hazardous to one's health."All my friends who work out all the
time, they're going for knee replacements, hip replacements - they're a disaster," he told New York Times in 2015, saying he gets his fill
of exercise standing in front of crowds at campaign events.In high school, Trump played football, baseball and soccer
In a January interview with the Wall Street Journal, he boasted: "I was always the best athlete
People don't know that."But he gave up his athletic pursuits after college
In The Washington Post's biography of Trump, "Trump Revealed," reporters traced Trump's turn away from sports and exercise to an odd theory
he developed about how a person's body could be depleted of energy, like a battery, by exercise
When Trump, for example, learned that one of his top casino executives, John O'Donnell, was training for an Ironman triathlon, he warned
him, "You are going to die young because of this."In January, Trump's White House physician told reporters that Trump acknowledged that he
could stand to lose a few pounds by exercising and eating better.As far as Wednesday's fitness event goes, "I think it's just wonderful that
the president has suddenly become interested in physical health," said Marion Nestle, a nutrition and public health professor at New York
"Presidents have huge influence on American health
He is not someone who has, in any visible way before, shown interest in promoting health, so it's hard to say without irony, but if he's
speaking up about health today, I'm totally for it."Even now, 16 months into his presidency, much of Trump's personal health remains
shrouded in mystery.His longtime personal doctor, Harold Bronstein, said recently that Trump representatives conducted a "raid" on his
office and spirited away Trump's medical files.Trump is the oldest person to be elected president and has repeatedly attacked opponents as
being "low energy" and lacking "stamina." But even when he golfs, Trump eschews walking, preferring to take a golf cart, even driving onto
greens, which is normally frowned upon
During a Group of Seven summit in Sicily, rather than walk 700 yards up a small hill for a photo op, Trump followed behind other leaders in
his signature golf cart.In January, then-White House physician Ronny Jackson, who left that job amid scandal, issued a clean bill of health
for the president that was so over-the-top in its superlatives that it was questioned by many medical experts. Ivanka Trump was also
present at the fitness event at the White HouseThe height and weight that Jackson listed from that physical has become the target of several
The physician's description of Trump's height of 6 feet 3 inches and weight of 239 pounds make Trump overweight but just a hair under the
official designation of obese.In a recent book, Trump's former top campaign managers said he had "four major food groups during the
campaign: McDonald's, Kentucky Fried Chicken, pizza, and Diet Coke."After the January physical, the White House physician told reporters
that he planned to arrange for a dietitian and low-impact, aerobic exercise program so that Trump could lose 10 to 15 pounds this year.When
asked about that new exercise regimen and planned weight loss Tuesday, Ivanka Trump, who was hosting a briefing on the upcoming fitness day
event, abruptly left the call."Ivanka had to step out for another meeting," press aide Ninio Fetalvo told reporters.But some in Trump's
orbit say they have started noticing small changes in his eating habits.Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani told The Washington Post that at a
meeting this month over lunch, he noticed Trump eating one of his usuals - a well-done burger - but with a twist
The burger, Giuliani noted, had only half a bun."I do that, too, sometimes," Giuliani said about the half-bun
"It's a good way to do it."Others who dine regularly at the White House told CNN that they have noticed Trump these days often eating fish -
Dover sole - instead of his go-to favorite of well-done steak slathered in ketchup.Trump, however, has been less active when it comes to
publicly supporting a healthy diet
Just as he tried to dismantle many of his predecessor's other signature programs - the Iran deal, Obamacare, the Paris climate treaty -
Trump has gone after Obama's attempts to get Americans to eat more healthfully.Under Barack and Michelle Obama, the White House launched a
"Let's Move" campaign to teach children to eat better and get fit, an effort to combat the increase in child obesity
Trump issued an executive order in February overhauling the initiative to abandon the previous administration's focus on better eating and
fitness and replacing it with an effort to get children to join team sports
Trump even changed the name slightly to Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, putting "sports" ahead of "fitness."In the phone briefing
ahead of Wednesday's event, White House officials said Trump wants to get more children participating in sports and to make it more
accessible to poor students."We must break down barriers to youth sports participation and empower each child to reach his or her full
potential through sport and play," Ivanka Trump said.At Wednesday's event, Trump talked about the athletic "winners" serving on his council
"Does winning get boring to you" he asked former Yankees relief pitcher Mariano Rivera
He talked about how sports help children "reach their potential" and "valuable life lessons learned on the field of competition."But Nestle,
the NYU public health expert, questioned the Trump White House's dismantling of the previous work on nutrition."You need both diet and
