Barack Obama, the current US president, is known for having some unhealthy habits.

His struggle with smoking has been well documented.

He recently had a his first physical exam as president.

His doctors decreed that he was in “excellent health” but needed to quit smoking and to keep an eye on his cholesterol. His cholesterol had reached borderline high levels since his last exam, most likely because of a change in his diet.

Although the president already exercises six days a week, he decided to add some more exercise to his routine. While he took the motorcade to go one block from the White House to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce building, the president decided to walk back after delivering a speech on high school drop out rates. Obama strolled through Lafayette Park, joking to reporters that he needed to work off some of his cholesterol. He also said he was taking advantage of the nice weather. After several snowstorms in the month of February, the weather in Washington, DC is finally starting to warm up.

Although it was a brief walk, perhaps the president’s actions will encourage other Americans to choose walking over driving, particularly for such short distances.