Ailing in the Oval Office

Ill-Health, Bad President?

Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was diagnosed with a lung infection and chose to keep it a secret. A look back into the history of presidential health issues shows, that many presidents had been fighting often more severe and in some cases incurable diseases.

For example, Franklyn D. Roosevelt had been infected with polio, resulting in a paralysis of both his legs. He hence financially supported research, which led to the creation of a vaccine. He guided Amerika through World War Two.

And then there's John F. Kennedy, who, despite his youthful image, wasn’t the healthiest president in office. Kennedy kept his diagnosis of Addison’s disease, an incurable disorder of the adrenal glands, from the public. Still, he mastered the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Those are only two examples of presidents whose health wasn’t in the best of shape. The below infographic shows that other men in the Oval Office did their job despite suffering from ill-health. A more extensive list was published by Healthline magazine.

Description

This chart shows some of the health issues selected US presidents had been afflicted with.

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Health score of U.S. presidents as of 2018
Length of life and cause of death of United States Presidents from 1799 to 2025
Number of U.S. presidents who died in each state, from 1799 to 2018
Unfavorability of major party nominees for U.S. presidential elections from 1956 to 2016
Weight of all U.S. presidents elected between 1789 and 2021 (in kilograms and pounds)
Highest rank attained by U.S. presidents while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces between 1770 and 1973

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