Morbidly obese

Nancy Pelosi says 'morbidly obese' Trump should not be taking hydroxychloroquine

By Eric Ting

During an interview on CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" Monday night, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi expressed concern over President Donald Trump taking the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to protect against the coronavirus, calling the president "morbidly obese."

Trump told reporters Monday he has been taking the drug along with a zinc supplement daily “for about a week and a half now" in an attempt to block the virus should he be infected.

When asked about the president taking the drug, Pelosi stated she would prefer he avoid it due to his "age group" and "weight group."

"He’s our president and I would rather he not be taking something that has not been approved by the scientists," she said. "Especially in his age group and in his, shall we say, weight group, morbidly obese, they say."

According to the CDC, for an individual to be morbidly obese, his or her BMI must be over 40. Trump's 2019 White House physical revealed he has a BMI of 30.4, which is defined as obese, but not morbidly obese.

Hydroxychloroquine has well-documented serious side effects, including severe heart problems. It has not been proven to be effective against the coronavirus in a single clinical trial that used a control group. One such study in Brazil was halted over concerns of fatal heart complications.

Trump said his doctor did not recommend the drug to him, but he requested it from White House physician Dr. Sean Conley, who said in a statement that after “numerous discussions” with Trump about the evidence for and against using hydroxychloroquine, “we concluded the potential benefit from treatment outweighed the relative risks.”

When asked about side effects, the president told reporters, “All I can tell you is, so far I seem to be OK.”