Who is healthier – Clinton or Trump?

Never before has a presidential campaign featured two major candidates so old, and never in recent campaigns have they been as secretive about their health.

If elected, Donald J. Trump would be the oldest president on inauguration day, a few months older than Reagan, and Hillary Clinton would be the second oldest. Is it a coincidence that they have both been so guarded with their health information?

Neither candidate has yet released their full medical records or made their physicians available for questions. Until recently, all we knew about Trump was contained in a brief letter last December from his physician stating that, if elected, he would be "the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency." Where the physician found medical records to compare him to, say, George Washington, was not explained.

Clinton's physician issued a letter in July 2015 stating that, aside from hypothyroidism and seasonal allergies, she was in "excellent physical condition."

With the health issue recently grabbing attention after disclosure of Clinton's bout with pneumonia, Trump this week released a second letter from his physician. It summarized the results of medical tests and concluded that he "is in excellent physical health," except for being somewhat overweight (absent the comparison with presidents past and present).

Trump also discussed his health this week with television personality Dr. Mehmet Oz. What better way to reveal health information than on reality-based TV? He handed Dr. Oz some documents, but it is not clear whether they included actual medical records.

Clinton released a letter this week from her physician explaining her pneumonia and its treatment along with detailed results of medical tests. The letter concluded that she "continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as President of the United States."

So, which candidate is healthier? Unfortunately, we don't really know. Both pneumonia and excess weight are treatable. The question is what other conditions they might have, but that is hard to determine in the absence of actual medical records or questioning of the physicians who examined them.

But, we do know which candidate has provided more information about their medical history, and that is Clinton. The two letters from her physician contain considerably more information than the two letters concerning Trump and his television appearance.

Ordinarily, matters of health are confidential. However, employers are legally permitted to ask about health issues that relate to the capacity of an applicant to do a job. We, as voters, will decide in a few weeks whom to hire as our president. We can make of the candidates' health records what we wish, but we should at least have access to all relevant information.

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