Chris Christie On Weight: 'It's A Really Difficult Thing To Deal With'

In an interview with ABC News, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) discussed the issue of his weight, saying, "It's a really difficult thing to deal with."

The Republican governor said, "I've been living with it for a long time, and I'm going to try to get better." He added, "And if I can get better, that'll be great for me and for my family and for the public who likes me ... it's something that's not easy. If it were easy, I'd already have it fixed.”

Christie signaled that he's never considered gastric bypass surgery as a viable solution to address his weight, calling the procedure "too risky."

It's not the first time Christie's weight has come into the spotlight. At the White House Correspondents Dinner in April, comedian Jimmy Kimmel cracked a joke in his speech on the issue:

"Look, it's Chris Christie, get him! You know, they say that inside every American governor is a president struggling to get out," the comedian quipped. "In Chris Christie’s case, it’s the only one where you can still hear him screaming."

Kimmel added, "Gov. Christie, I think you might be misunderstanding New Jersey’s slogan -- it's not ‘The Olive Garden State'."

In responding to the remarks, Christie later said that when you have Sofia Vergara "next to you to console you... you don't care what the heck Jimmy Kimmel said." He added, "The minute he started joking about the president being too thin, believe me, I figured I was in the zone of danger."

Speculation has swirled in recent months that Christie could emerge Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's pick for a running-mate in his general election campaign against President Barack Obama.

Christie said during an appearance on CNBC on Tuesday, "I love being governor of New Jersey, you can tell. But the fact is, if Gov. Romney picks up the phone and calls, you have to answer the call and listen at least."