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President Barack Obama will be saying "No, I won't" to dessert and high-fat foods after an annual check-up showed his LDL cholesterol level has crept up, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Monday.
"He would be also the first to tell you that he has probably had a few more cheeseburgers, and I think he would admittedly tell you he's had more desserts in the last year than I've seen him eat prior to this," Gibbs said in answer to a reporter's question about the president's high LDL, sometimes referred to as "bad" cholesterol.
"Look, those guys make good desserts over there," Gibbs said, referring to the White House chefs.
"I think he's, on more than one occasion, sampled more than he needed to."
On Sunday, as Obama headed back to the White House after his physical examination at a military hospital in Maryland, the president and Gibbs discussed how he would have to "push away from the table when the pie came more than he had in the previous year" to bring his LDL levels back down.
At 138 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl) of blood, the 48-year-old president's count of low density lipoprotein, or LDL cholesterol, was found during his physical to be just outside the expected range, which is between 70-130 mg/dl.
Obama's personal physician Jeffrey Kuhlman said the physical exam indicated that he would remain healthy for the duration of his presidency.
Under his recommendations, Kuhlman also urged him "continue smoking cessation efforts" over the president's ongoing battle with his cigarette habit.
