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How important is fitness and good health for our politicians and minsters?

Ignacworth

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any of our top politicians,ministers,leaders are over the age of 80,some barely able to walk without assistance,many with poor health and fitness
 

Thalassa

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Senator Robert Byrd, a Dem senator from WV, lived to be 92 and was a powerful person almost up until the day he died, and he did real good in the world, in my opinion.

I think it's fine as long as their brain is still functioning as it should.
 

Such Irony

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I'd say it's important. They don't have to be athletes or have flawless physiques but they should be fit and healthy enough so that they have enough physical vigor and stamina to meet the rigorous demands of their roles. You don't want someone who's so sick that it seriously threatens their ability to do the job and also if they've got some terminal illness you have to worry about finding a suitable replacement.
 

kyuuei

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I think it is natural to lead by example... Can't complain about the cost of health care and things like that when health is so subjective in terms of priorities. Make it a priority, and it'll become one.

But like Marm said.. I don't fault others for not really caring for their health. Some people have no desire to be healthy their whole lives, or live to be extremely old. Personally, I would rather die a bit younger even though I could have functioned longer.. than live to the point where I can do nothing all day but sit inside of my head. As long as their brain works, I'm okay with it.
 

rav3n

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Anyone in a metaphorical royal family position should be healthy, for the sake of continuity.
 

Oeufa

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I should think it's preferable. A house full of obese politicians isn't desirable; it's not a good look for the country from an international perspective, and it probably won't inspire a whole lot of hope in the populace.

While not necessarily true, a lot of people do sub-consciously connect fat-ness with lazyness. We might look at a seriously overweight politician and be inclined to think that they won't work as tirelessly as someone who takes care of themselves. It may be complete rubbish, but there may be a grain of truth to it as well. If someone can't be bothered to make their own health a priority, can we be truly certain that they will make the most of their time in office? Politicians don't have to be Adonis or perfect athletes, but I'm inclined to think that they shouldn't be obese either.

Obviously, a politician's policies, past record and work ethic is the most important thing. That said, if there were 2 identical candidates in front of me - one being reasonable active and in good shape; the other being inactive and fat - I'd choose the physically active person.

As a small example, Ireland's Minister for Health is a rather overweight woman. She used to be morbidly obese, but to be fair she has actually lost a chunk of the weight in the last few months. She is still, however, a far cry from a fit and healthy person. She isn't someone who inspires confidence in the Irish people (for many reasons), and the one thing a lot of people slag her for is her weight. Sometimes, it really is important to be healthy, even if it's just so that there's less political ammunition to be used against you.
 
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