His spokesman, Michael Drewniak, made the announcement after Christie was more than an hour late to a central New Jersey farm where he was scheduled to sign open space legislation. The 48-year-old governor was driven to Somerset Medical Center by his state police security detail out of an "abundance of caution," Drewniak said. Drewniak said Christie suffers from asthma and all indications are Christie "will be fine."

The governor, who took office 18 months ago, has long struggled with his weight, which he said he started putting on after high school when he stopped playing organized sports. He's tried dozens of diets over the years with varying success.