Oct. 24, 2019 | The job of president of the United States is difficult, known to take its toll on even the healthiest of executives. Did you know that more than half of the 44 leaders of this country died within 10 years of leaving the White House? Four presidents actually died in office, Harrison, Taylor, Harding and FDR, while four were assassinated, Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley and Kennedy. The country has actually had 45 presidents, with Grover Cleveland serving two terms non-consecutively, being the 22^nd and 24^th man to hold the nation’s highest office. Nearly half of all U.S. presidents would have been considered overweight or obese according to their body mass index, while only one, James Madison, at five-feet-four inches tall and 100 pounds, was considered underweight. It may surprise you that some presidents, despite having the best medical care in the world, died of common, curable diseases, Washington of pneumonia, Monroe of tuberculosis and Polk of cholera.

Oct. 24, 2019 | Many of our nation’s presidents concealed their health problems for fear of ruining their political careers or causing concern about the country’s appearance to the rest of the world. When Grover Cleveland needed surgery in 1893 to remove a cancerous tumor in his mouth, he did it secretly, on a friend’s yacht cruising through Long Island Sound. Cleveland thought it would cause an economic crisis if the information was released that he had cancer, and his illness was not revealed until 15 years after his death from a heart attack. During the Woodrow Wilson administration in 1918, the president suffered a stroke while on a speaking tour of the Western states that rendered the left side of his body immobile. His first lady, the secretary of state, his personal physician and private secretary all kept his condition secret. The White House attributed Wilson’s ill health to “nervous exhaustion.” He died in 1924, three years after leaving office.

Oct. 24, 2019 | Abraham Lincoln is one of the most famous and beloved presidents this country has ever had. He was also one of the sickliest of our nation’s leaders. It’s been widely reported that Lincoln as well as his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, suffered from recurring depression. The depression is thought to be related to the deaths of two of his children at young ages. The 16^th president of the United States also had malaria at least twice and contracted smallpox even though it was reportedly a mild case of the disease. He reportedly had to shave off his trademark beard due to a rash associated with the ailment. His gangly form and extreme height has led many geneticists to suspect that Lincoln had Marfan syndrome, disorder that affects connective tissue. People with Marfan syndrome are often very tall, thin, and loose jointed. Lincoln was shot on April 14, 1865 by Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth and laid in a coma for nine hours before dying the next day.

Oct. 24, 2019 | William Howard Taft was the 27^th president of the United States, serving from 1909 to 1913. Taft, who struggled with his weight throughout his life, had a huge appetite and was clinically obese. At just under 6 feet tall, he weighed about 340 pounds when he left office. He suffered from sleep apnea, among other conditions that may have been caused or made worse by his weight. Taft suffered a head injury at the age of 9 that resulted in an indentation in his skull that he carried for life. He had typhoid fever as a boy, and he had an abdominal abscess and dysentery, as well as several cases of food poisoning and heartburn while in office. Taft generally avoided smoking and drinking, but, once he became president, he developed gout. The first president to own a car, Taft was in car accidents in 1910 and 1921 but suffered only minor injuries. He died of complications related to heart disease, high blood pressure and bladder inflammation in 1930.

Oct. 24, 2019 | James Abraham Garfield was elected the President of the United States in 1881 but unfortunately, his term lasted only 200 days. On his way to the New Jersey seashore for a family vacation, Garfield was shot twice at the Baltimore and Potomac train station by Charles Guiteau, an embittered attorney who had sought a consular post shot the President. Mortally wounded, Garfield lay in the White House for weeks. Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, tried unsuccessfully to find the bullet with an induction-balance electrical device which he had designed. Over a four-month period, Garfield experienced symptoms of a likely infection, including fever, weakness, and an abscess. During his last 80 days of life, Garfield wasted away from a plump 210 pounds to a bony 130 pounds. On September 6, 1881, Garfield was taken to the New Jersey seaside where, 13 days later, he died from an infection and internal hemorrhage.