Caracas, Venezuela ? Call it the Bolivarian battle of the bulge.

President Hugo Chavez said in a televised speech Friday that “there are lots of fat people” in Venezuela and advised exercise and healthy eating. “I’m not saying fat women, because they never get fat,” he said. “Women sometimes fill out.”

The 55-year-old leader said he himself has lost nearly 20 pounds by exercising and eating well. But Chavez, who still appears heavier than when he first took office in 1999, acknowledged that he could lose a few more pounds.