JOE BIDEN’S HEALTH: JUST HOW FIT IS THE PRESIDENT?
From freezing at public events to his disastrous performance in the first presidential debate, Joe Biden’s health is one of the biggest issues in the election.
There is no hiding that the 81-year-old president is showing his age. His current state is a far cry from footage of him jogging around the White House with Barack Obama a decade ago.
According to the Axios website, Mr Biden is sharpest between 10am and 4pm, but outside those hours he is prone to fatigue and verbal gaffes.
Even though age is no bar to holding political office in the US – Strom Thurmond was a Senator at the age of 100 – voters will be asking if Mr Biden is physically and mentally fit enough to serve as president for another four years.
So how healthy is Mr Biden?
Exercise
When Mr Biden moved into the White House, he wanted to bring his Peloton bike with him, but the Secret Service objected.
Nevertheless, the president has cycled along bike pathways near his beach house in Rehoboth Beach. But two years ago a photo-op did not go well when he fell off after his foot caught in one of the pedals.
According to Kevin O’Connor, his physician, Mr Biden exercises five times a week, although his current exercise routine is unclear. When he went to Lake Tahoe on holiday last year, he and his wife Jill took pilates and spin classes.
Golf
During the presidential debate, Mr Biden and Trump squabbled about their respective abilities on the golf course.
The former president challenged his successor to a golf match, having claimed Mr Biden could not hit a ball 50 yards.
Mr Biden retorted that he brought his handicap down to six while he was vice president and challenged Trump to a golf game – provided he carried his own clubs.
Vices
Mr Biden is teetotal and a non-smoker.
Diet
According to Axios, Mr Biden prefers carbs over greens, much to the chagrin of his wife Jill, who has been urging him to increase the amount of fish and vegetables in his diet.
He appears to have a sweet tooth, enjoying peanut butter and jam sandwiches, biscuits and ice cream sundaes.
Other presidential favourites are bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches, and pizza.
Eschewing alcohol, his drink of choice is orange Gatorade.
Television viewing habits
While Trump was an avid watcher of television, his channel of choice was Fox News. Mr Biden’s consumption is more limited, normally keeping up with the news on CNN or MSNBC while working out in the morning.
Overall physical health
Dr O’Connor concluded in February that the president was a “healthy, active, robust 81-year old male. Who remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency.”
But at the same time, his detailed report did flag up some health issues. One was Obstructive Sleep Apnea, a condition which affects over 30 million Americans. It requires him to wear a mask at night to improve the flow of oxygen into his brain.
He does suffer from gastric reflux, which requires him to clear his throat more frequently.
The most noticeable problem is his gait. He appears stiff while walking, largely as a result of wear and tear as well as arthritis, especially on his left hip.
Cognitive fitness
Dr O’Connor carried out a detailed neurological examination in February and found no evidence which would suggest a major disorder such as stroke, multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease.
But his assessment has been challenged. In particular by Robert Hur, a special prosecutor investigating whether action should be taken against Mr Biden over his handling of classified documents.
Mr Hur’s report, which was angrily disputed by the president, described Mr Biden’s memory as “hazy”, “fuzzy” and “faulty”.
Ronny Jackson, who was Trump’s physician and is now a Republican congressman, has claimed that Mr Biden’s “mental decline” has accelerated.
However, critics have questioned his assessment, given his own controversial record in the White House, where he was allegedly dishing out sedatives and stimulants without a prescription.
Nevertheless, even those more sympathetic to Mr Biden have commented on his mental acuity.
Carl Bernstein, one of the most respected journalists in the US, said Mr Biden had more than a dozen “senior moments” over the past 18 months, adding that senior Democrats had privately voiced concern over increasing spells of “cognitive decline and physical infirmity”.
