Now that politics is not only about serving your country, but how good you look, many politicians have opted to lose weight before running for office. Some may be turning to weight loss pills, but it seems that most are using the good old fashioned eat less and exercise more. Mike Huckabee lost more than 100 pounds and authored the book Quit Digging Your Grave with a Knife and Fork: A 12-Stop Program to End Bad Habits and Begin a Healthy Lifestyle.

In 2006, Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante of California, offered weight loss advice on a website while running for State Insurance Commissioner. Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue threw his Snickers bar into a crowd at the state capitol to launch his Live Healthy Georgia campaign in 2003. He lost weight and told reporters: “I’m a hunk.”

Also losing weight was Bill Bolling, Virginia’s lieutenant Governor. He pledged to drop 30 pounds by the end of the year in 2006.

Does all this help? Any positive media attention is always good for politicians and there are those who vote based on looks alone, so it can’t hurt!