Salad days ahead at Philippine presidential palace

MANILA, Nov 27 (Reuters) Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is slightly overweight and needs to lose two to four kilograms, her physician said after putting the 4 foot 11 inches head of state through a check-up.

Dr Juliet Gopez-Cervantes said Arroyo, who weighs 54 kilograms, was healthy but needed to exercise more and cut back on fatty foods and carbohydrate-heavy meals.

The 59-year-old was expected to leave a private hospital in Manila later yesterday after checking in for a routine medical examination on Saturday morning.

Arroyo's husband Jose Miguel was being kept overnight for additional tests. Gopez-Cervantes said he would be discharged on Monday but warned that he had more flab to shift than his wife.

''I think we do not have to be a doctor to assess that the First Gentleman is really overweight,'' she said.

Reuters BDP DB0832