( CNN ) -- Can the media get over their collective obsession with weight ? Fat chance . For some strange reason , here we are again , talking about Michelle Obama 's derriere . And , for good measure , Chris Christie 's girth . Watch : Why is Washington Post highlighting Michelle Obama 's rear ? It 's easy , it 's fun , it 's good for clicks and ratings . It 's also kinda cheap . The Washington Post used a pretty flimsy peg -- Alabama high school football coach Bob Grisham caught on tape -- to run a Style section piece on the weighty issue . `` Fat butt Michelle Obama , '' the coach is heard saying , declaring her overweight . Grisham was suspended by the school ( he says he misspoke ) . But this is national news ? Really ? Talk Back : Should Christie be shamed into losing weight ? Of course , the paper dressed it up with highfalutin ' sociology . `` The focus on this first lady 's posterior has historical antecedents , '' the article says , launching into questions about how black women have long faced scrutiny about their bodies . Well , maybe . And yes , Rush Limbaugh and Republican Rep. James Sensenbrenner have sounded off about Obama 's bottom . And yes , the fact that she has mounted an anti-obesity campaign does sort of put her in the crossfire . Watch : Chris Christie 's doughnut diplomacy with Letterman . But as the Post acknowledges , Michelle Obama is a 5-foot-11-inch woman with toned arms who is widely viewed as being in good shape . She 's not a triathlete ; she 's a working mother of two . So when the story asks , `` What is it with Michelle Obama 's critics and the fixation with her derriere ? '' I would turn that question around . What is the media fixation with publicizing it every time some bozo sounds off about her backside ? This is an uncomfortable reminder that the media business celebrates models bordering on anorexic , making perfectly proportioned young girls and women feel heavy because they do n't have superthin ( and often airbrushed ) celebrity bodies . This may help promote the fashion industry , which considers normal women plus-size , but it bears little relation to real life . Christie is a different case . Having endured endless jokes about his oversized frame , the New Jersey governor shrewdly decided the best path was to poke fun at himself . Watch : Is Facebook over ? More friends taking 'vacations ' from site . So he appeared on David Letterman 's couch this week , one of his chief tormenters , and promptly shoved a doughnut into his mouth . He allowed that he did n't mind fat jokes if they 're funny . It was self-deprecating humor that showed Christie to be a real human being . But the truth is that the teasing does bother Christie . And there is a serious question here beneath the laughter . Christie is grossly overweight , and his health would be a legitimate issue if he runs for president in 2016 . Which , as you may have noticed , is four years from now . Doughnuts aside , Christie treated the matter more seriously at a news conference , saying that he 's `` remarkably healthy '' but that `` my doctor continues to warn me that my luck is going to run out relatively soon . '' The governor showed he had lost none of his feistiness after Connie Mariano , a former White House physician , said on CNN : `` I worry that he may have a heart attack , he may have a stroke . ... I worry about this man dying in office . '' Christie upbraided her Wednesday for diagnosing him without an examination : `` She must be a genius . She should probably be the surgeon general of the United States . '' He said she was just another hack seeking `` her five minutes on TV . '' Well , you started it with your doughnut diplomacy , Governor . Watch : Doonesbury 's plea to save newspapers ( and his strip ) If Christie becomes a White House contender , everything is fair game . He can hardly complain about other folks after his `` Late Show '' shtick . But I ca n't help but think it is easier for pundits to pontificate about Christie 's weight than to examine his record in Trenton . Everyone who has worried about those extra pounds can relate to the story , but the coverage is out of hand . If I never read another word about Michelle Obama 's behind , I may go celebrate with a Krispy Kreme . The opinions in this commentary are solely those of Howard Kurtz .
Howard Bush : Media obsessed with Chris Christie and Michelle Obama 's weight . Obama : Michelle Obama is 5 ' 11 '' and in good shape despite comments about her rear . Chris Christie 's girth is serious , he says . If he runs for office his weight is fair ##er . Kurtz : Media obsessed with weight , stick - thin models who border on anorexia .