What Do Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump’s Self-Described Habits Tell Us About Their Health?

Both Clinton and Trump have shared very little officially about their health. (Photo: Getty Images)

With Hillary Clinton’s health still making headlines, it seems only fair to try to assess how healthy both Clinton and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump are based on what they themselves are letting the world know.

And what both of them have let the world know about their health isn’t a lot. Each candidate has released a brief report from a personal physician on his or her respective health status. In her letter, Clinton’s personal physician, Dr. Lisa Bardack, notes that any issues Clinton suffered from her 2012 concussion and 2009 elbow fracture have been resolved and that Clinton is “healthy” and in “excellent physical condition.” The letter released by Trump’s personal physician, Dr. Harold Bornstein, says that Trump “has had no significant medical problems.”

As the New York Times reported yesterday, this lack of disclosure seems surprising, especially given the candidates’ ages: Clinton is 68 and Trump is 70. If elected, either would be one of the oldest elected presidents ever. Former President Ronald Reagan is the current record holder, having assumed office at the age of 69.

Then there’s what we know from what the candidates have shared about themselves and their own habits.

Exercise

In an interview with People magazine in December 2015, Trump, who has not made many comments about physical fitness, said that “speaking is almost a form of exercise,” noting that he has lost 15 pounds since going on the campaign trail.

The GOP nominee is also known for his love of golf. In a September 2015 interview with The Hill newspaper, Tony Horton of P90X fame says of Trump’s golf habit as a form of exercise, “If you’ve got a hilly course and you’re walking it, yeah, that’s tremendous.”

Meanwhile, Clinton’s love of yoga is well-documented; Clinton even said that many of her deleted emails from her time in the State Department were about “yoga routines.” A January 2016 story in Time magazine called “You Asked: Is Yoga Good Exercise?” points to research that indicated that yoga lowers risk for heart disease and hypertension, has efficacy as a tool for weight loss and maintenance, and helps reduce stress. Clinton has said that her yoga practice helped her endure the 11 hours of testimony she was called to give before the House Select Committee on Benghazi, which might be the most glowing endorsement of the practice’s power of all. The former secretary of state is also said to enjoy walking.

Diet

In the same interview with People, Trump shared that his favorite breakfast is bacon and eggs — not exactly the most heart-healthy choice. Earlier this month the candidate tweeted a picture of himself on his plane eating Kentucky Fried Chicken (most controversially, with a fork and knife). Thus, by his own account, Trump seems to enjoy a diet high in saturated fats and cholesterol — which doesn’t bode well for long-term cardiovascular health.

Clinton also shared a love of eggs in the morning with People magazine, though perhaps her best-known food love is hot peppers and hot sauce. A 2008 New York Times story notes that hot peppers may help boost metabolism and are also very nutrient-dense — especially in vitamin C, beta carotene, and lutein — which can help bolster immunity. Likewise, a 2016 story on NPR also cites research indicating that hot peppers can help stave off premature death; those who regularly consume spicy foods have a 14 percent less likely chance of premature death than those who eat spicy foods only once a week or not at all.

Sleep

Trump says he sleeps anywhere from 90 minutes to four hours a night, tops. While some people carry a rare genetic mutation allowing them to be what’s known as “short sleepers” — that is, people able to fully function on roughly half the amount of sleep that most of us need to be operational — there is no public information as to whether Trump falls into this 2 percent of all people with the aforementioned mutation. Without this mutation, however, such little sleep can be dangerous. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends seven hours of sleep a night for adults in order to help reduce the risk of disease — like high blood pressure, heart disease, and obesity — associated with sleep deprivation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that 30 percent of all adult Americans are sleep-deprived — defined as getting six hours or less of sleep a night — and that those with sleep deprivation are more likely to get cancer and suffer from depression.

Clinton, conversely, is known for her love of sleep and desire to get more of it than she usually does. During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, she disclosed that she has taught herself to “sleep on command” and take 10-minute naps whenever possible. A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicated that daytime nappers perform better on memory and creativity tests alike. The Mayo Clinic also notes that regular napping offers many benefits for adults, from increased alertness to increased relaxation and improved mood, and recommends that naps be kept short — from 10 to 30 minutes in length — and ideally taken in the midafternoon to maximize their benefits.

Vices
Trump says that as a result of losing his older brother to alcoholism, he abstains from drinking alcohol and smoking, choices that definitely earn him health bonus points. (And apparently, Trump doesn’t even drink coffee.)

Clinton, while a nonsmoker, is known to enjoy the occasional drink and even maybe made wine ice cream a thing.

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