New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie addresses the media during the groundbreaking ceremony for TEAL Center at Essex County Newark Tech in Newark, N.J. Reports say Christie secretly underwent a weight-loss surgery in February, when a band was placed around his stomach to restrict the amount of food he can eat.NEWARK, N.J. – Gov. Chris Christie, who once famously called himself “the healthiest fat guy you’ve ever seen,” disclosed Tuesday he had secretly undergone weight-loss surgery, a major new step by the potential Republican presidential contender to address both his health and a political vulnerability.
The stakes are high for Christie, with medical professionals and campaign strategists alike suggesting there is no more serious barrier to his personal well-being and national ambitions than his weight.
It’s not about politics, he said. It’s about turning 50 and wanting to be around as his children grow up.
“This is a hell of a lot more important to me than running for president,” Christie, a father of four, said at a news conference in Newark. “This is about my family’s future.”
Christie, who appeared thinner than he did earlier this year, said he decided around the time of his birthday in September to have the surgery and initially planned to have it done in November. But Superstorm Sandy’s destruction in New Jersey pushed back the procedure until February. In the operation, a band was surgically placed around his stomach to restrict how much food he could eat.