It's finally beach weather across the US. Are you applying enough sunscreen?
As temperatures start to climb across the U.S., more and more of us across the country will head towards the beach.
But as we enjoy all that the summer months have to offer, it's important that we stay protected with the right amount of sunscreen.
Skin cancer remains the most common form of cancer in the U.S., and nearly 20 Americans die from melanoma every day. Without sunscreen, your skin's DNA can be damaged and you can be exposed to melanoma, which is the most common kind of the cancer.
'Ultraviolet radiation may result in short-term and long-term skin damage, including sunburn, signs of aging, and even skin cancer. Approximately one out of five people in the United States may develop skin cancer in their lifetimes,' Dr. Dominic Wu, a resident physician at Cambridge Health Alliance, explained.
But, what are the best practices and what do beachgoers, hikers, and anyone need to know to keep themselves safe this season?
How much do I need to apply and when?
Physicians recommend people use at least enough to fill a shot glass to cover exposed areas. An ounce should cover the whole body, but you may need to tweak based on your size.
People should apply the sunscreen to dry skin about 15 to 30 minutes before heading outdoors, giving it time to be absorbed.
Don't forget to reapply every two hours or more often after swimming or sweating, and that the sun's UV rays can still penetrate clouds.
Sunscreens are recommended for everyone over 6 months of age and should be worn year-round.
Sunscreens do have expiration dates, and if it is not visible on the bottle, you should stop using it three years after purchase, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
Does the SPF matter?
Makeup with a sun protection factor — or 'SPF' — of 30 provides some protection. But, it's much less than traditional sunscreen and those with a higher factor.
Although, people often apply makeup just to their face.
An SPF of 50 or higher provides greater shielding from 'lobster' sunburns.
'To get the most protection out of sunscreen, choose a broad spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15,' the FDA says.
Make sure you look for 'broad spectrum,' which are sunscreens that shield from both UVA and UVB rays.
What about the method of application?
A stick or spray sunscreen will work, if applied effectively, as they have the same active ingredients as lotions.
But, make sure to rub the sprays in! Uneven application could mess with the protection it offers.
'The best sunscreen is the one that you will actually use,' Dr. David Kim, a cosmetic dermatologist at Idriss Dermatology in New York City, told The New York Times.
What about the type?
Many sunscreens contain similar active ingredients. However, what you're putting on your body can depend on the type: mineral or chemical. The only FDA-approved mineral sunscreen ingredients are zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. Chemical sunscreen ingredients include oxybenzone, avobenzone, octisalate, octocrylene, homosalate, and octinoxate. Some people recommend avoiding sunscreens with oxybenzone, which has caused allergic reactions.
While chemical sunscreens absorb UV rays and convert them into heat, physical sunscreens sit on the surface of the skin and reflect the rays, according to Florida Oncology and Hematology.
Mineral sunscreens work well for sensitive skin and are less likely to cause irritation, Dr. Steve Daveluy, an associate professor in dermatology at Wayne State University, told VeryWell Health. They're also effective immediately after application.
A recent survey from the American Academy of Dermatology found Gen Z adults are less informed about how to protect themselves from the sun, as well as more susceptible to myths and misconceptions. Only 56 percent of a survey of more than 1,000 adults use sunscreen regularly.
Make sure to avoid being outside when the sun is directly overhead. Remember that everyone needs sunscreen, regardless of skin color. People should also seek shade and wear appropriate clothing. Also, there's no such thing as a 'safe' tan. The tan signals skin cells in trauma.
'I often hear, 'I need to get a base tan before I go to the Caribbean for a holiday,' and I always respond, 'would you smoke a pack of cigarettes to protect you from lung cancer?'' Dr. Ashani Weeraratna, a member of the National Cancer Advisory Board, said.
'In 2024, one in six Americans felt it was worth looking great now even if it means looking worse later in life with two-thirds of Americans preferring how their skin looks with a tan,' Academy President Dr. Susan Taylor said. 'Many people don't realize that the steps they take now to protect themselves from the sun can make a huge difference down the road — do your future self a favor and take action today.'
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Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Shocking rise of 'Ozempic HANDS': New disturbing side effect of weight-loss jab leaving celebrities looking 'like the undead'
Experts have raised the alarm over a bizarre new side effect linked to weight-loss jabs - dubbed 'Ozempic hands '. The term refers to the thinning, almost skeletal appearance of the hands and fingers reported in some people on drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro. As the treatment triggers rapid fat and muscle loss across the body, subcutaneous fat is also stripped from the hands - leaving bones, veins and tendons more prominent. The phenomenon was recognised when the jabs first began to be widely used, and some patients reported needing to have wedding and engagement rings resized as their fingers slimmed down, along with their waistlines. Now the trend is back in the spotlight after viral social media videos highlighted how the hands of certain celebrities appear to have changed dramatically over the years. These have prompted a wave of online speculation about whether it might be an effect of weight-loss injections. One clip, which has been viewed over three million times, focused on reality TV star Khloe Kardashian, comparing images of her hands recently and a decade before. While the creator of the video didn't speculate as to the cause, social media users were quick to suggest it was due to blockbuster weight-loss drugs. Clips on social media have compared Khloe's hands to images taken of the reality TV star in 2012, like this one. Khloe pictured here at the The X-Factor Finalists party that year 'It's Ozempic. My hands did that too,' commented one. Experts speaking to MailOnline explain that fat loss to the hands can happen with any version of the drug, including Wegovy and Mounjaro. Pharmacist and nutritional therapist Deborah Grayson, known as The Godmother of Pharmacology on TikTok, said: 'Ozempic hands is the visible thinning of fingers that can occur during rapid weight loss. 'As with weight loss in general, fat loss doesn't happen evenly across the body. 'The hands, which naturally have very little fat to begin with, can appear bonier or slimmer as a result. 'It's not a side effect of the medication itself, but rather a visual consequence of rapid fat loss.' She added that it wasn't harmful, however the change would be permanent - unless the patient regained weight. Cosmetic treatments such as injections of fillers to 'plump' and rejuvenate the hands may be one remedy, however these are specialist procedures and cost many hundreds of pounds. GP Dr Donald Grant, a senior clinical advisor at The Independent Pharmacy, also said Ozempic hands or fingers was nothing to medically be concerned about. But he added that patients on the drugs should still keep an eye on potential side effects and seek advice from their GP if needed. 'Should people experience increased side effect intensity or different reactions to the treatment, people should visit their GP, who can provide further advice,' he said. 'Anyone concerned about the amount of weight they're losing should also seek urgent medical attention.' In the TikTok clip that sparked the new discussion of the side effect, a woman posting under the name 'atruthforyou' compared images of Khloe Kardashian's hands from 2012 to a picture taken in 2022. In the latter, the star's fingers are noticeably thinner and appear longer. 'These are her hands today, like how, what is going on here?' she asked. In a follow up video on Instagram she continued: 'You're telling me this hand transformation is just from weight loss? Guys come on.' Some commentators said the hands looked like those of 'vampires', with one adding: 'Got them Nosferatu hands!' Khloe Kardashian hasn't said she has used a weight-loss jab but previously did say she would have tried them when she was attempting to lose weight in her younger years. In comments last year the 40-year-old said: 'When I was bigger, if they had Ozempic, I probably would have tried it, because I tried any other thing. 'I tried any fad weight-loss trend, except for the real thing that actually works, and that's a lifestyle change.' Other stars who have confirmed they are using weight-loss jabs also appear to have thinner hands. These include talkshow host Oprah Winfrey, and TV personality Sharon Osbourne. Oprah, 71, revealed she lost more than three-and-a-half stone with the help of a weight-loss jab to help reach her goal weight of just under 12stone. The star weighed almost 17st at her heaviest. Sharon, 72, disclosed earlier this year how she lose three stone in just four months while using Ozempic and now weighs just over seven stone. Another star with slimmer fingers is Misery and American Horror Story actress Kathy Bates, who has lost more than seven stone after turning to Ozempic. 'Ozempic hands' is just the latest in a series of side effects people have speculated A-listers may be suffering from. Another recent one to emerge is 'Ozempic feet' which refers to sagging or aging skin on the feet due to rapid fat loss that occurs while users are on the jabs. 'Ozempic feet' joins the likes of 'Ozempic face' and 'Ozempic butt', which are also caused by dramatic changes in body fat. While blockbuster weight-loss jabs help slimmers lose up to a fifth of their body weight in only a year, this can come at price. Earlier this year surgeons raised the alarm about the rising number of people suffering from issues with their body shape from rapid weight loss. Cosmetic procedures such as thigh lifts and tummy tucks have enjoyed a post-Ozempic boom, as people seek to rid themselves of 'melted candle' excess skin folds left behind after they slim down. While fat tissues shrink away, the skin - which has become stretched over time from a person being overweight - doesn't simply snap back. In extreme and rapid cases of weight loss - such as that which occurs in people using weight-loss jabs - surgery can be the only remedy for this excess skin. But it's not just a cosmetic issue; patients with excess skin can also suffer mobility problems and infections due to excess skin. And if they choose to fix the issue with surgery, they also face the inescapable risk of surgical complications including blood clots. The issue of the aesthetic aftermath of weight-loss jabs is only going to grow larger as the drugs are dished out to more and more people. About 4,000 patients a month are prescribed GLP-1 drugs on the NHS in the UK, with almost 350,000 patients receiving the medications in 2024, though additionally 500,000 are thought to be taking the drugs privately. And more could be on the way - as British GPs will be able to prescribe the jabs directly to patients from this month. This is a shake-up from the previous system which required patients to attend a specialist NHS weight-loss clinic to get the jabs on the health service. However, this will initially only be available for severely obese patients with multiple health conditions. But it is expected more patients will be able to get the jabs from their family doctor as restrictions are relaxed over the next three years. In the US, it is estimated about 13 per cent of the population - roughly 33million people - have tried the drugs at least once. While the injections have been linked to multiple health benefits that go beyond combating obesity, including a reduced risk of heart attack and stroke, other studies suggest that could also carry some risks. One recent study suggested they could raise the risk of a type of cancer that is surging in young people.
Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
I visited the fattest place in America, where fresh fruit is a 12-mile trip away
Clyde Anderson has a thick, raised scar, three centimetres wide, that runs down the centre of his chest where his ribcage was cut open. In 2020, surgeons extracted veins from Anderson's leg and grafted them to his heart in a quadruple bypass. His original coronary arteries had become so clogged with fat that he had had a heart attack. 'I was truck-driving and eating when I could, eating fast food,' says Anderson, 54. At the time, he weighed around 19 stone (120kg). 'Then my health checked up on me.' But by many accounts, Anderson, who has since sworn off fried food and is several stone lighter, is one of the luckier residents of Holmes County in rural Mississippi. 'I have classmates who died from diabetes and heart attacks in their 30s,' says Roneda Lowe, 42, another local. This is the reality of living in the fattest place in America. Of the 3,140 US counties with comparable statistics in the 2023 US Health Census, five have an obesity rate of more than 50pc. In Holmes County, Mississippi, 53.2pc of all adults are obese, meaning they have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more. It is a microcosm of the problems plaguing rural America, as residents are on the frontline of an obesity crisis that is destroying the nation's health. How long this malaise has left is another matter. Robert F Kennedy Jr has vowed to wage war on America's expanding waistlines. Kennedy, appointed US health secretary by Donald Trump, has claimed that something in the food supply is 'poisoning the American people', with fast food giants largely to blame. 'The problem is, [the] industry is making money on keeping us sick,' he said in April. His Make America Healthy Again (Maha) report last month claimed the ultra-processed foods (UPFs) that make up nearly 70pc of children's calorie intake are 'detrimental' to their health. This crackdown has drawn support from many of America's leading food experts, who have been won over despite Kennedy's reputation for spreading conspiracy theories. 'His rhetoric is fantastic,' says Marion Nestle, emerita professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University. 'I've just never heard anybody in government take on the food industry in this way.' If he follows through with his ambitions, Kennedy will engage in all-out war with a $2.4 trillion (£1.8 trillion) food industry that has held sway in America for decades. However, to achieve his health revolution, he faces a gargantuan fight. Food desert In the darkened gymnasium of an abandoned school six miles outside Tchula, Holmes County, an irrigation system for a new hydroponics farm is being prepared. When Calvin Head flicks a switch, LED lights hum and water spurts from the tubes looped around the metal trays. They do not yet hold any plants, but Head hopes to grow microgreens, bok choi and strawberries once he receives grant funding for the necessary renovations. Head, 63, is the director of the Mileston Farmers Cooperative Association, which is focused on regenerative farming and training local young people. Elsewhere, he is growing corn, squash, watermelon, purple hull peas, and 'every green you can imagine'. As part of the group's mission, Head and his colleague Tom Collins, 70, are battling to address a paradox. Despite their base in the Mississippi Delta, which boasts some of the richest soil in the state, many Holmes County residents live in what are known as 'food deserts'. Agriculture is Mississippi's number one industry. There are more than 31,000 farms across the state covering a combined 10.3m acres. And Holmes County itself is unbelievably lush. Everything is green, apart from the flaming yellow black-eyed susans that grow wild in banks at the side of the road. Things grow well here, but grocery stores in Holmes County are few and far between. In most, the fresh food sections are tiny, and many have empty shelves. For example, in Tchula's Dollar General store – a discount chain with a small grocery section – the crates supposed to house fresh tomatoes and bananas are barren. The closest supermarket is 12 miles away in Lexington, the nearest city. But that does not mean it is plentiful or cheap. 'The closest reasonably good supermarket is about 30 miles away,' says Collins. Even the healthy food available in stores isn't always tasty or nutritious. 'They use preservatives,' says Collins. 'Maybe it takes a week before it gets here. You take a bite of an apple, and it tastes like beeswax. 'We live in a community where you have fields of traditional crops like cotton, corn, and soybeans, but that's not going to actually put food in your belly. Holmes County is a desperate area for nutritional food.' Like many places in rural America, there is no public transport whatsoever in Holmes County. There are no pavements beside 55mph roads, no cycle lanes and no public pathways through the countryside. This makes it difficult to exercise and impossible to get anywhere without a car. Lack of access to healthy food is also compounded by poor healthcare services. Holmes County's economy was built by slaves, defined by agriculture and has long-standing inequalities. But farming jobs have now long been lost to machines. 'We were really dirt poor and educationally destitute,' says Sylvia Gist, who grew up in the county in the 1950s and 60s during the Civil Rights movement and now runs a scholarship programme called the Migration Heritage Foundation. 'If you were black, you were poor, but for whites it was booming.' Sixty years on and everyone is struggling. Median household income in Holmes County is just $29,434 – the lowest of any county with a population of more than 10,000. Every single child is eligible for free school meals. 'Real poverty in America is defined by access,' says Jason Coker, who grew up in the Mississippi Delta and is president of Together for Hope, a rural development coalition. 'People might have access to a gas station, but they don't sell fruits and vegetables. They sell fried food and that food is cheaper. The cheapest food is the worst food. 'So you get a full diet of the worst foods that make you obese and prone to diabetes, which kills your health outcomes.' 'I grew up on Pop-Tarts' But even when healthy food is available, people often do not choose it. It can be more expensive and less convenient. And it is not omnipresent in TV commercials. Dennis Horton, 65, was born and raised in the small town of Goodman and opened Christine's Restaurant here seven months ago. He drives an hour each way to buy the produce he needs from markets in the Mississippi towns of Grenada, Philadelphia and Jackson. When he started, Horton and his partner tried offering dinners with vegetables on the menu, but that didn't last long. 'We had to stop about three months ago,' he says. 'It was wasting food. We weren't selling them.' Price is also key. He charges around $14 for a more nutritionally complete meal, whereas Horton's hamburgers cost $10. This can often make all the difference. 'People like to eat cheap,' he says. This reflects the loss of autonomy over food in Holmes County. On Tuesday in Goodman, families gathered around barbecues under pavilions at the side of the main street. Over the generations, the residents of Holmes County have noticed a dramatic change in their relationship with food. 'My mom grew up here with their family's own food gardens,' says Roneda Lowe. Her mother, Nellie Scott, 71, recalls how she 'could eat all day long'. 'But it was fruit,' she says. 'We had apple trees, figs and peas from our garden. We didn't get cake until Sundays and we didn't have problems with obesity.' For Lowe, the contrast was stark. 'Between my mum's generation and mine, something got disconnected,' she says. 'I grew up on Pop-Tarts. The things we eat are different. People eat a lot of French fries and chicken wings. We should go back to whole foods.' This is where 'big food' comes in. 'Years back, when the grandparents and extended family all lived under one roof, there was somebody to cook and prepare food,' says Robin McCrory, the outgoing mayor of Lexington. 'Now we live in the age of fast food and instant gratification and drive-ins and drive-throughs.' Marion Nestle argues that much of this shift has been driven by profits. 'The food industry made an enormous concerted effort in the 1950s to convince women in particular that cooking was a chore, difficult, complicated,' she says. 'They said, 'We're going to make it easy for you. We're going to produce TV dinners. We're going to produce packaged foods. All you have to do is open them and heat them up.'' Food companies pursuing higher profits for shareholders are quite naturally geared towards encouraging people to eat more. That means companies seek to manufacture food that is cheaper, tastier and has a longer shelf life. Cue the rise of ultra-processed foods. UPFs are industrially manufactured food items that have undergone intense processing and contain ingredients not found in home kitchens, such as stabilisers and emulsifiers. They include fizzy drinks, sausages, mass-produced bread and most packaged snacks. These foods now make up more than half of America's calorie intake. UPFs typically have very high levels of refined sugars, unhealthy fats and salt. They are typically high in calories and low in nutrients. But they are convenient and cheap. 'For people who are poor, who are working two or three jobs and are absolutely exhausted, they don't have money to buy expensive things for their kids,' says Nestle, the emerita professor of nutrition. 'But they can give their kids food as treats, and their kids want fast food because it's marketed. These are kids who have no idea what real food is like.' UPFs have been linked to increased risk of conditions such as heart disease and cancer. And what is particularly clear from scientific studies is that UPFs make people eat more. 'It's the processing, the texture, the flavour. These foods are deliberately designed so that you keep eating them,' says Nestle. 'These products are advertised, that's what you think you're supposed to eat. That's extremely profitable for companies. 'There's a real problem, and RFK has hit on that problem.' UPFs are a key flashpoint in Kennedy's Maha report, which describes them as 'detrimental to children's health' and draws a direct link between the higher prevalence of UPFs in America and the nation's higher rate of obesity compared to Europe. It also states that UPFs have led to 'nutritional depletion' in children and points to studies that various additives have been linked to an increase in mental disorders. The rise of UPFs and fast food marketing has coincided with fewer young people learning how to cook. 'We've forgotten how to grow our own food and cook it,' says Coker. Nestle adds: 'If you don't know how to cook, you can't go around the periphery of the supermarket, pick up real, unprocessed foods and turn them into something that your family is willing to eat in a short amount of time.' Making America healthy again Poor health extends far beyond Holmes County. Around two in five American adults are obese, by far the highest rate in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) of rich nations. Another third are overweight. When Kennedy spoke at his Senate committee hearing back in January, his diagnosis of the problem was not dissimilar to Lowe's, but he was far more aggressive. 'When my uncle [John F Kennedy] was president [in 1961-63], 3pc of Americans were obese. Today, 74pc of Americans are either obese or overweight,' he said. 'No other country has anything like this. In Japan, the obesity rate is still 3pc. And epidemics are not caused by genes. Genes may provide the vulnerability. But you need an environmental toxin. 'Something is poisoning the American people and we know that the primary culprits are changing food supply, the switch to highly chemical-intensive processed foods.' Even Donald Trump, a loyal McDonald's customer, has come out fighting. At the launch of the Maha report in May, he said: 'Unlike other administrations, we will not be silenced or intimidated by the corporate lobbyists or special interests, and I want this group to do what they have to do. It won't be nice or won't be pretty, but we have to do it.' Rarely has a previous administration been so overt in its criticism of America's food industry. Alexia Howard, a senior food industry analyst at Bernstein, says: 'I've covered the space for 20 years, and in that time frame, I haven't seen anything quite like this in food. 'It's interesting to see how far and how fast things are moving right now.' Kennedy has promised comprehensive policy plans in August, while one of his first steps has been to announce measures to phase out petroleum-based synthetic food dyes. This was low-hanging fruit. Food producers will not need to reformulate a product if the dye is changed. Flavourings, by contrast, will be more complicated. 'I think that over time, that will expand into other additives and ingredients that are not demonstrably safe,' says Howard. 'Things like preservatives and additives used to bulk ingredients up.' Kennedy has begun the process of closing the 'generally recognised as safe' (Gras) loophole, which allows food companies to secure approval for additives without applying to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA is in a consultation period on proposals to introduce a new mandate for front-of-package nutrition labels to highlight salt, added sugar and saturated fat contents of foods. 'I don't want to take food away from anybody,' Kennedy said at his committee hearing earlier this year. 'If you like a McDonald's cheeseburger or a Diet Coke, which my boss [Trump] loves, you should be able to get them. But you should know what the impacts are on your family and on your health.' Holmes County is one of the bluest hubs in a state that voted red at the last election, although Kennedy's war on fast food is winning over local voters. 'I'm really not a Trump fan, but as far as Robert F Kennedy is concerned, I agree with him to a great extent,' says Gist, who voted Democrat in November. The first task for Kennedy will be gaining influence over the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), which is responsible for many of the policy areas the health secretary wants to tackle. In particular, USDA oversees the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap), which provides what are effectively food stamps to one in eight Americans. Kennedy says he wants to change Snap so that unhealthy foods do not qualify for taxpayer cash. Currently, the scheme is dominated by UPFs. Analysis by Bernstein shows that sweetened beverages are the second-largest category of expenditure for Snap recipients, accounting for nearly a tenth (9.3pc) of all benefits. This is double what is spent on fruit (4.7pc). A further 19.4pc is spent on frozen ready meals, shop-bought desserts, salty snacks and sweets combined. Kennedy has encouraged states to apply for individual waivers. Texas has already passed a bill to make fizzy drinks, crisps and sweets no longer eligible for Snap benefits, while nine other states are drawing up similar plans. But federal rule changes will depend on the USDA, which is being lobbied hard by some of America's biggest companies. There are already signs that big agriculture has achieved some success, particularly as the Maha report fell far short of an anticipated attack on pesticides. There are also questions over Kennedy's credibility. His Maha report has been widely panned for referencing scientific studies that do not exist and for evidence it was written with the help of AI. It has also drawn scrutiny for raising doubts about children's vaccines, a longstanding bugbear for Kennedy, who recently made a false claim that prescription medicines were the third leading cause of death in the US. 'It's very difficult to take this seriously,' says Nestle. As for big food, it is not only Kennedy who poses a threat. It is also under pressure from big pharma. Over the past year, weight-loss drugs such as Wegovy, known as GLP-1s, have exploded across the US. Between 8pc and 10pc of the US population are using these drugs, while analysts expect this figure will soon rise to 15pc. Taking GLP-1s means patients reduce their calorie consumption by 27.5pc, potentially slashing obesity rates across the country. 'The food industry is terrified because they make people eat less,' says Nestle. However, while politicians and lobbyists wage war in Washington, the residents of Holmes County are crying out for change. Before he ran the farm, Head was Holmes County's transportation director. It was during this role that he was confronted with the bleak reality that Mississippi is the only state in America where more than a quarter of children (26.1pc) are obese. Head knows that fixing such damning statistics is the only way to prevent another era of obesity in America. 'The school buses were overcrowded because some of the kids were so big that only two of them could be where three ought to sit,' he says. 'We just want to work hard to make life better for ourselves.'
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Obama's doctor makes candid confession about Biden's mental decline while in office
The former White House physician to President Barack Obama has broken his silence, candidly admitting that President Joe Biden should have undergone rigorous cognitive testing throughout all four years of his presidency. Dr. Jeffrey Kuhlman, who served as Obama's doctor from 2009 to 2013, didn't mince words warning that Biden should have been subjected to extensive annual neurocognitive exams and that the results should be made public. 'My position is that a 78-year-old candidate, Trump at the time, an 82-year-old president [Biden], would both benefit from neurocognitive testing,' Kuhlman stated, noting how age-related decline is inevitable. 'Any politician over the age of 70 has normal age-related cognitive decline.' Kuhlman, the author of Transforming Presidential Healthcare, has been making these recommendations for nearly a year - notably publishing them in a New York Times op-ed on the very day Biden bowed out of the 2024 race. Despite multiple detailed physicals during Biden's time in office, Kuhlman pointed out that none included neurocognitive assessments like the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) - a basic test famously taken and 'aced' by President Trump. 'I have no doubt that President Trump aced it,' Kuhlman remarked. Yet Biden's evaluations, spanning five to six single-spaced pages and referencing 10 to 20 specialists, conspicuously omitted any serious cognitive screening. Biden's physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor who also treated Biden during his vice presidency never subjected him to a formal cognitive battery or even the routine MoCA test. Such an omission has become more glaring given the president's visible struggles, culminating in his disastrous debate performance in June 2024 that effectively ended his reelection bid. 'Sometimes those closest to the tree miss the forest,' Kuhlman said to the New York Post acknowledging his respect for O'Connor's medical judgment but hinting at blind spots that may have endangered the presidency itself. Kuhlman also emphasized that simple cognitive screens like the MoCA are not enough to fully assess deeper mental deterioration. True evaluation requires extensive testing for memory, reasoning, processing speed, and spatial visualization. Such faculties begin to decline starting around age 60. The White House had long insisted Biden was 'fit for duty,' yet Kuhlman's remarks cast fresh doubts on those assurances. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre brushed aside concerns at a February 2024 briefing declaring, 'The president doesn't need a cognitive test. He passes a cognitive test every day.' But the former presidential physician's comments now suggest that claim was complacent. Adding fuel to the fire, White House logs revealed Biden met with Dr. Kevin Cannard, a Parkinson's specialist from Walter Reed, as part of his annual physical in January 2024. While O'Connor insisted the meeting was routine, other medical professionals weren't convinced. 'If somebody turns up a report that Kevin Cannard said he has Parkinson's then that's a completely different story,' Kuhlman said. He did, however, express trust in Cannard's evaluation based on their long-standing professional history. In the past, critics pointed to Biden's stiff gait, slow movement, and shuffling walk as signs of something deeper. 'I could've diagnosed him from across the Mall,' neurologist Dr. Tom Pitts bluntly told NBC in July 2024. In one final blow, Special Counsel Robert Hur's bombshell decision not to indict Biden over his handling of classified documents cited that a jury would likely view the president as 'a sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.' The Republican-led House Oversight Committee is now turning up the heat. Chairman James Comer (R-Kentucky) has subpoenaed O'Connor to testify under oath on June 27 about Biden's mental fitness. In a pointed letter, Comer raised concerns about O'Connor's 'financial relationship with the Biden family' and suggested there may have been a cover-up to conceal the president's cognitive decline from the American public. Jean-Pierre who has since left the Democratic Party and is preparing to release a scathing tell-all book about the 'broken' Biden administration is also expected to testify. Last month, a new book titled Original Sin by CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios' Alex Thompson hit the shelves with allegations of a vast cover-up of Biden's final years in office. According to the book's authors, O'Connor resisted administering a cognitive test during Biden's last two years. Days before the book's released Biden revealed he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer with the cells having spread to the bone. Kuhlman emphasized that cancer testing protocols should have been maintained after 2014, but hinted that Biden may have been let down even in that regard. 'I hope that Kevin O'Connor had that conversation every year with his patient, Joe Biden, and documented that in the medical record,' he said. 'If he did the PSA and chose not to release it, I don't agree with that.'
