Basta to the pasta! Pope Francis was warned by his doctors to lay off his spaghetti intake, Vatican doctors recently told Italian news agency Ansa (via The Telegraph) on Wednesday, April 1.
According to the medical experts, the 78-year-old religious leader has been gaining weight as a result of consuming too much ravioli and spaghetti — sans exercise.
The Vatican doctors said the Pope, who leads more than 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide, needed to take on more "disciplined" dieting and fitness routine to help combat the stress induced by his daily job.
Their prescription? Pasta limited to two times a week. Specifically, Vatican doctors told the Pope to "eat less pasta, walk more often, and lose a little weight to take some strain off his aching back."
Speaking of calorie-packed Italian food, Pope Francis recently made headlines for receiving a special pizza delivery while riding his Popemobile through the Amalfi Coast. The picture-perfect moment was executed after the religious leader expressed how he missed picking up pizza randomly without being recognized.
In fact, he mentioned a potential return to normalcy while speaking to Mexican outlet Televisa last month. "I have the feeling that my pontificate will be brief: four or five years, even two or three," the Pope noted of his papacy. "Two have already passed. It is a somewhat strange sensation. Maybe it's like the psychology of the gambler who convinces himself he will lose so he won't be disappointed and if he wins, is happy."
