The weighty question: Is Sharon well enough for another term?
Israelis were looking forward yesterday to the release of an official file which would finally reveal one of most closely guarded secrets in the land - how much does Prime Minister Ariel Sharon weigh?
The subject became a matter of legitimate public interest after he was admitted to hospital last week for two days following what doctors termed a minor stroke. The press has since been relating to his weight as if it were a how-many-beans-in-the-jar contest.
The daily newspaper Maariv reported the prime minister, whose waist has been expanding with the years, weighs 142kg. Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel's largest-circulation newspaper, challenged that with a report, giving the weight as 110kg.
Dieticians interviewed by Israel Radio termed this figure absurd, and estimated, on visual evidence alone, that the prime minister weighs 140kg to 160kg.
The mystery was to be resolved at a press conference scheduled for late yesterday by Mr Sharon's doctors to discuss his condition. They were expected to provide detailed information about his physical condition, including his weight.
There is no law in Israel obliging periodic medical reports on its leaders. The decision to reveal Mr Sharon's condition was made jointly by him, his political advisers and doctors. The health of Mr Sharon, who will be 78 in February, is expected to be a major issue in the campaign leading up to a March election since he will be running for a four-year term.
He has in the past light-heartedly dismissed references to his age by noting that his aunt functioned well into her 90s.
However, his stroke has required him to relate to the matter more seriously. Yedioth Ahronoth reported that his tests last month showed a 120/80 blood pressure reading and cholesterol of 195, both within the normal range.
Mr Sharon chaired the regular Sunday cabinet meeting and attended meetings of his new-found Kadima party later in the day.
Doctors did not object when he chose to spend the weekend at his ranch instead of his Jerusalem official residence close to the hospital.
At the cabinet meeting, Mr Sharon invited his colleagues to partake of the jelly doughnuts and potato pancakes that had been placed on the table, traditional food for the Hanukkah holiday. 'Just don't overdo it,' he said to general laughter, a reference to the advice he has been getting.
Mr Sharon has paid scant attention to doctors' recommendations that he go on a diet. He has reportedly been taking medication against gout for the past 20 years and may require catheterisation for a congenital heart defect revealed following his stroke.
He walks with a slight limp from wounds suffered as a lieutenant fighting for the road to Jerusalem in Israel's war of independence in 1948.
