NJ Gov. Christie puts weight issue on the table

"If you talked to anybody who has struggled with their weight, what they would tell you is 'every week, every month, every year, there's a plan,'" Christie said Tuesday, a day after appearing with Letterman, who has used the Republican governor's midsection as a punch line since he took office in 2010. "The idea that somehow I don't care about this, of course I care about it, and I'm making the best effort I can."

Christie, 50, acknowledged dieting has been a regular part of his life for 30 years.

"Sometimes I'm successful, and other times I'm not," he said. "And sometimes, periods of great success are followed by periods of great failure."

Christie has never revealed his weight or released his medical records, and he bristled when his size came up during the 2009 governor's race. An ad by incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine accused Christie, a former federal prosecutor, of "throwing his weight around."

Christie found himself addressing the issue again on Tuesday, when a reporter asked whether the people who elected him should worry about his health because of his weight.

Christie said he's "remarkably healthy" and proved his fitness for the job by working 18-hour days after Superstorm Sandy, considered the state's worst natural disaster, slammed the Jersey coast on Oct. 29.