Medical or a PR exercise? Why presidents get annual check-ups

Every president in modern history - including Donald Trump this week - has taken an annual physical exam that is as much about messaging as it is about health.

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"Well, they think I look too young," Joe Biden, then aged 81, joked after his annual medical check-up as the oldest president in US history.

The US president is one of the most powerful people on the planet - and the public scrutiny of their health records has grown into a distinctly American phenomenon.

Every president in modern history has taken the short journey from the White House to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for a regular physical exam - and it's as much about political messaging as it is about health.

"Americans historically have wanted masculine presidents, vigorous presidents," said Dr Matt Dallek, a political historian at George Washington University.