Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's considerable girth has become a topic of national interest in Israel ever since he was rushed to hospital on Sunday evening suffering from a mild stroke.
Yesterday, it became a topic of international concern, with president George Bush offering some personal advice to the Israeli leader: eat less and exercise more.
Mr Bush, who called Mr Sharon to wish him well, counselled the prime minister to "be careful about food, start exercising and cut back on work hours", a government statement said. The president, who once remarked that he was exhausted just listening to the extent of Mr Sharon's daily workload, is also said to have told the Israeli leader he hopes to see the fruits of his advice when the two meet in a couple of months.
"Be careful, my friend," said Mr Bush, who is believed to tacitly favour Mr Sharon ahead of the March 28th elections in Israel. He told the Israeli leader he had to remain healthy if the two are to jointly battle terrorism.
Mr Sharon, who left hospital yesterday after doctors said he would not suffer any lasting damage from the minor stroke, told Mr Bush he would rest for a few days in his Jerusalem residence before returning to work.
"I see you've missed me," he told reporters as he left the hospital. "Now I have to rush back to work."
Some doctors treating Mr Sharon have been blunt about the need for the 77-year-old to diet. "He obviously could lose some weight, like many people," said one physician at Hadassah hospital in Jerusalem.
It is not clear how receptive the prime minister will be to this dietary advice. After all, physicians have been advising him to lose weight since as far back as 1965. A spokesman for the prime minister said his aides had not raised the weight issue with him during his hospitalisation and that Mr Sharon had not talked about it either.
Cartoonists were less reticent to broach the prime minister's battle with obesity.
On one website, a cartoon portrayed two nurses trying in vain to extract a bloated Mr Sharon from an MRI machine.