Arnold Schwarzenegger, 77, is speaking out about the significant weight loss of his 27-year-old son, Christopher Schwarzenegger.
The action movie star’s youngest child with his ex-wife, Maria Shriver, dropped 30 pounds in recent years. During a June 14-dated interview with The Times, Arnold addressed Christopher’s shocking body transformation.
“I could never go and say to him, you’re overweight. We just kept introducing healthy foods. We introduced him always to the gym and all of that kind of stuff,” Arnold explained.
The “FUBAR” stars continued, “And then, out of nowhere, he decided that he wanted to be lean. And now he is. So that is, of course, fantastic, the self-discipline and the self-motivation. I always felt one day it will have to come from him — and it did.”
Social media users weighed in on Christopher’s slimmer frame and his famous father’s remarks in the comment section of People magazine’s Instagram post.
“The kid is very handsome,” one fan wrote in the comment section. A second individual expressed, “Looks like he lost more than 30 lbs.”
Arnold was praised for his parenting when one fan commented, “He looks very much like dad. And he looks terrific! No matter how he did it I’m happy for him. Hope he can maintain. And kudos to Arnold for not overly involving himself and letting Chris make his own choices.”
In contrast, a more critical person took issue with Arnold’s approach, writing, “And that’s the problem with trying to be politically correct! How the hell can’t even tell your kid he has a weight problem.”
Christopher has revealed how he supposedly lost 30 pounds in a relatively short amount of time while at the Beacher Vitality Happy & Healthy Summit in Los Angeles in May 2025.
“I started in 2019 when I was living in Australia. I was on this big trip. I made it a big [deal] like, ‘Oh, I’m going to go out and do all this stuff, be in Australia,’ and I just saw how much my weight was prohibiting me from doing the everyday activities,” the University of Michigan graduate said.
He went on to explain how the Christian religious observance of Lent played a role in his weight loss journey. Lent observers usually give up something in their lives for 40 days as a way to test their self-discipline and deepen their connection with God.
“I was like, ‘Well, if I’m giving up bread, I might as well just take the opportunity and I’m a good Catholic boy, so I’m not going to break it,’” Christopher recalled. “And that was my one rule. I was like, ‘I’m not going to break Lent.’”
In September 2021, Arnold shouted out his offspring on social media for his 24th birthday. “The Terminator” actor mentioned Christopher embracing boxing, weightlifting, stretching, and cycling.
Christopher sported his slimmed-down look most recently alongside his dad and siblings at the Netflix Tudum Theater for the “FUBAR” season 2 premiere on June 11. He walked the event’s red carpet alongside his sisters, Katherine, 35, and Christina, 33, as well as his brother, Patrick, 31.
Arnold’s third son, Joseph Baena, was also in attendance. The family’s former housekeeper, Mildred “Patty” Baena, gave birth to Joseph in 1997 while Schwarzenegger was still married to Shriver.
Christopher, Patrick, Christina, and Katherine took photos together with their father. Katherine’s husband, “Guardians of the Galaxy” cast member Chris Pratt, also posed with the Schwarzeneggers.
However, Arnold only took pictures with Joseph separately from his half-brothers and half-sisters. Joseph has followed in his father’s footsteps by entering the bodybuilding industry and the entertainment business.
