BY MARC CAPUTO

TALLAHASSEE - In a recent harangue about how a suspected anti-Cuba terrorist entered the United States, Fidel Castro singled out Gov. Jeb Bush -- and went straight for the gut.

Castro called the governor ''the fat little brother in Florida'' and wondered if Bush had helped Luis Posada Carriles into the country, according to a transcript released Monday of the Nov. 17 address to University of Havana students, who erupted in laughter.

The Cuban leader didn't stop there.

'Forgive me for using the term `fat little brother' '' Castro said. ``It is not a criticism, rather a suggestion that he do some exercises and go on a diet, don't you think? I'm doing this for the gentleman's health.''

The governor's office wouldn't ''dignify this with a response,'' a spokesman said. In an e-mail, Bush declined Monday to discuss Castro's comments, saying questions about it were the product of a ``slow news day.''

During a question-and-answer session Monday with the press, a reporter asked if there were anything in this week's special lawmaking session that gives him ``heartburn.''

Joked Bush: ``I thought you were talking about my diet. I didn't have breakfast today.''

When he first took office in 1999, Bush was more svelte when he would climb 22 flights of stairs to the top of the Capitol. Since then, his pace has slackened.

In October, Bush lamented to students at Tallahassee's Canopy Oaks Elementary School that he's not walking enough. The students were challenged to wear pedometers and take 10,000 steps daily to remain fit, though Bush managed 735 that day.

''This is kind of a struggle for me,'' he was quoted as saying by The New York Times Regional News Service. Bush explained he walks less than he would like because he gets whisked about by security cars to far-flung events.