Donald Trump says he is in good health, but voters up to now have had to take his word for it.

Trump once said that all presidential candidates should release their medical records. But so far in the 2016 race, he had declined to release his, and a campaign spokeswoman had not responded to multiple requests for comment about the candidate’s health records stretching back to October.


On Thursday, three hours after this article was published, the billionaire businessman relented, tweeting that he'll release his records within the next two weeks. "As a presidential candidate, I have instructed my long-time doctor to issue, within two weeks, a full medical report-it will show perfection," Trump said in the tweet.

While the health of a presidential candidate is always important, and nominees release their medical records as a matter of course, Trump’s age, diet and self-professed lack of workout regimen makes the issue more pressing in his case.

If elected, the businessman would take office at the age of 70, making him the oldest person ever to ascend to the presidency. Ronald Reagan was 69 at the time of his first inauguration.

Over the course of his presidential campaign, Trump has said that he does not exercise or play sports regularly and that he eats whatever he wants – a diet heavy on bacon and steak.

Hillary Clinton – who, at 68, is 16 months younger than Trump -- released a summary of her health records in July. Jeb Bush, 62, and Chris Christie, 53, each released records in October.

“Of course it’s important,” said Burton Lee III, who served as White House physician to George H.W. Bush, of the release of a presidential candidate’s medical records. “If the guy doesn’t give them there’s an immediate assumption that there’s something wrong.”

Lee said the issue is more than a hypothetical one, pointing to health problems that affected the performance in office of John F. Kennedy, Franklin Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson and were hidden from the public.

In recent presidential elections, major party nominees and their running mates have regularly disclosed health records with varying levels of thoroughness. This year, Bush undertook a new “Paleo” diet and exercise regimen to run for president, saying in August that he had lost 40 pounds. He released his health summary ahead of a recent FEC disclosure deadline, a move that took some attention away from lackluster fundraising results. Christie, who has long struggled with his weight and questions about his health, underwent weight-loss surgery in 2013. Hillary Clinton suffered a concussion in 2012, and Karl Rove has suggested that the injury casts doubt on her fitness for the presidency.

Trump too has raised the issue of Clinton’s health. “You have a big health question. Will she be healthy?” he said in a 2013 interview. “You always have to think about health.”

At 74, Bernie Sanders – who underwent hernia surgery on Monday – is the only major party candidate in serious contention who is older than Trump, but his chances at winning the Democratic nomination are considered slimmer than Trump’s chances of winning the Republican nomination. (Former New York Governor George Pataki, 70, barely registers in Republican primary polling). A spokeswoman for Sanders’ campaign did not respond to a request for comment about his medical records.

Trump has maintained that he remains hearty as he approaches his eighth decade.

“My health is very good,” Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt in September. “And my father was 94. My mother was 89 when she passed away, and my father was in great shape until he was really like almost 90. My mother was in great shape almost until the end, and mentally, her capacity was 100 percent, so from a genetic standpoint, very good. I’m in the process of getting some documentation from doctors that have taken care of me over the years. I’ve never had a major problem. I’ve had almost no minor problem as I knock on wood.”

But Trump — whose father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in his 80s — has not to date released any documentation supporting his self-assessment. Clinton’s physician, Lisa Bardack, wrote in her summary of the former secretary of state’s health: “She eats a diet rich in lean protein, vegetables and fruits. She exercises regularly, including yoga, swimming, walking and weight training.”

Trump’s children, meanwhile, have voiced concerns about their father’s eating habits.

Asked in November by Barbara Walters what she would change about her father, Trump’s daughter Ivanka responded, “I want him to eat healthier.” Trump’s eldest son, Donald Jr., seconded his younger sister. “I agree with that. I agree with that 100 percent,” he said.

Earlier last month, Trump detailed his eating habits and said on an episode of Bloomberg’s “With All Due Respect” that he paid no heed to reports about the healthiness of different foods.

“I love steak and hamburger and pasta and French fries, all of the things that we shouldn't be eating,” he said in a response to question about his favorite foods. Asked if there were foods he could not resist, Trump responded, “Yeah, bacon, eggs, steak. You hear a report that comes out, and it says you can't eat it and then you can, so I eat what I like.”

On the same episode, Trump revealed that he does not exercise much. “Do you ever exercise on the ice?” co-host John Heilemann asked Trump during a discussion of ice skating. “No, I run for office,” the candidate responded. “I play golf, I play tennis, I love sports. I don't have much time for exercising, but I do love sports.”

In a September profile in the New York Times Magazine, Trump said that he is not following a workout routine for his campaign but he considers delivering speeches to be a form of exercise in itself. “All my friends who work out all the time, they’re going for knee replacements, hip replacements — they’re a disaster,” he said.

But speech-giving may not be sufficient to keep Trump – who says he has lost 15 pounds since entering the race – in shape for a grueling campaign schedule.

In September, Trump’s discomfort during the second Republican primary debate, which lasted three hours, was visible. Afterward, he complained that the room was too hot and that the debate went on too long. He threatened to boycott the third debate if its host, CNBC, did not limit its length to two hours.

Trump has lived his adult life in the public eye and has not suffered any major medical problems that have been reported. He avoids alcohol, tobacco and coffee and reports sleeping only fitfully for a few hours a night.

What medication, if any, Trump currently takes, remains unknown, though in the past, he has been an advocate of transparency. In 1999, as he toyed with a third-party presidential run, the businessman appeared on “Larry King Live,” where the host asked him, “Do all candidates owe us their medical reports?”

“I think so,” said Trump. “I think you don't want to get into a situation where you elect someone and then you find he's terminally ill and he'll be in office for about three more months.”