Trump's doctor says Trump would be healthiest person ever elected president

NEW YORK, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- Donald Trump's personal physician says Trump "will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency."

Trump promised his medical records to the American public nearly two weeks ago, after his campaign dodged repeated requests to release them. Politico reported the announcement came only hours after the website published an article about his refusal to release his medical history.

The 69-year-old candidate has long touted his lack of an exercise regime, and his diet rich in steak and bacon. However, Trump's doctor, Dr. Harold Bornstein, says the candidate's "physical strength and stamina are extraordinary."

Bornstein credited Trump's abstaining from tobacco and alcohol.

In a statement released by Trump's campaign Monday, Borntein said "If elected, Mr. Trump, I can state unequivocally, will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency."

Hillary Clinton, 68, released her medical records in July. GOP contenders Jeb Bush, 62, and Chris Christie, 53, both released theirs in October.

Sen. Bernie Sanders is the oldest candidate in the race at 74, and has not released his records yet. A spokesman for Sanders' campaign declined Politico's request for comment.

The release of medical records has become customary for presidential candidates. The New York Times began interviewing candidates about their health in the 1980s starting with Ronald Reagan, who took office at the age of 69.

Times health reporter Lawrence Altman told the Columbia Journalism Review in 2008 that concerns about the health of the President and candidates vying to be president are well founded.

"You've got Woodrow Wilson with a stroke and his wife allegedly running the affairs of the country; you've got Franklin Roosevelt who may or may not have been told how deathly ill he was in his last term, and certainly nothing was told to the country about it," Lawrence said. "You've got Kennedy every which way not acknowledging that he had Addison's disease; you had [Thomas] Eagleton who had to leave the [Democratic] ticket in '72 because he didn't tell [George] McGovern about his past history of electric-shock therapy and depression; and there was [Paul] Tsongas in the mid-1990s and the fact that he had a recurrence after they had maintained that he was cured of cancer."