Texas fitness expert Dr. Kenneth Cooper may be President Bush's choice to be the nation's next Surgeon General.

Cooper, 70, is the founder of the Cooper Institute in Dallas, a renowned preventive medicine and wellness center. An article in the Dallas Star-Telegram quoted one insider as saying that his selection as the next Surgeon General is "a done deal."

President Bush, before he was president, did come to the Cooper Clinic.

White House spokesmen were unavailable to comment and spokespersons at the Department of Health and Human Services declined to answer questions on the nomination. The search for a new Surgeon General is underway now that Dr. David Satcher, who has held the post since 1998, officially announced his resignation January 15 in Atlanta.

Satcher, whose term is due to end February 13, has said repeatedly that he would not seek to stay on as Surgeon General after his term expires. He has elected to take a job Atlanta's Morehouse College as head of the school's new National Center for Primary Care.

Members of the public health community gave Satcher high marks for his term, saying that he worked hard to highlight important issues that were backed by strong scientific data. Most said he pursued the task even at the potential peril of his relationship with the Bush White House.

Cooper or any other Surgeon General choice will be subject to approval by the US Senate.

Reuters Washington January 15, 2002