U.S. President Barack Obama's first routine medical checkup since he took office revealed that he "is in excellent health," his doctor said Sunday.
However, the president's cholesterol count has risen to borderline high levels since his last publicly released medical records. His blood pressure and pulse rate remain normal, The New York Times reported.
Along with playing basketball and golf, Obama, 48, exercises at least six mornings a week. On Monday, after delivering a speech, Obama declined his usual ride back to the White House and and walked back via LaFayette Park instead, the Associated Press reported. The President joked with reporters that he needed to,"make sure that I'm walking off some of that cholesterol. That's a year of campaigning right there."
The president is also having trouble kicking his 30-year smoking habit and needs to make some changes to his diet, according to Dr. Jeffrey Kuhlman, the Navy captain who led the team that conducted the president's checkup, The Times reported.
Kuhlman also noted that Obama has chronic tendinitis in his left knee area, sometimes take a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug for the tendinitis, and requires a modified exercise routine, including a lower leg muscle strengthening program.