Tom Hanks Diagnosed With Diabetes

Tom Hanks is one of the biggest stars in the movie industry. With such noted films as Forrest Gump, The Green Mile, and classics like Big, he may appear he has the perfect life.
But as we all know, appearances are not always what they seem. Hanks was recently on the Late Night With David Letterman and announced that he has Type 2 diabetes.
The two-time Oscar winner was on the show to promote his new movie Captain Phillips and told Letterman that he had suffered from symptoms of Type 2 diabetes for more than two decades, but only recently received his diagnosis.

The topic came up by chance, as Letterman commented how much slimmer the actor looked. Hanks said he had a bit to go before he meets his doctor's goals.
"I went to the doctors and they said, 'You know those high blood sugar numbers you've been living with since you were 36? Well, you've graduated. You've got type 2 diabetes, young man'," Hanks said.
"My doctor said, 'If you can weight what you weighed in high school, you'll essentially be healthy and not have Type 2 diabetes," Hanks said. "Well, I'm gonna have Type 2 diabetes because there is no way I can weigh as much as I did in high school."
Letterman asked Hanks how much he weighed in high school, and Hanks promptly responded, "96 pounds. I was a very skinny boy."
Hanks spoke to Yahoo Movies about his diagnosis and had this to say, "Hey, I don't have Type 1 diabetes! Type 1 diabetes is a really, really serious thing. I don't have that. I have high blood sugars and Type 2 diabetes is not going to kill me. But I just have to eat right, and exercise, and lose weight, and watch what I eat, and I will be fine for the rest of my life.
"Part of it's hereditary, without a doubt. I guess I just got it in me. But it's really about a lifestyle, man... I'm 57 years old and for the last 20 years I've been carrying around probably 15 or 20 extra pounds in my regular life. When I work, a lot of times I have to lose weight and I do that, but in my regular life I was not eating right, and I was not getting enough exercise. But by the nature of my diet and that lifestyle- boom!
"The end result was high blood sugars that reach levels where it becomes Type 2 diabetes. I share that with a gajillion other people. The best thing you can do that for that and the thing that will completely negate its effects is eat right and lose weight. So that's what I'm doing."
Hanks urged people to get checked out and not be afraid of the disease.
"It's not a huge tragedy, but you know there are people out there that are saying, 'Geez, what's wrong with me? I don't understand. I feel like this, I get sluggish, I get down, I'm beginning to lose feeling in my feet.' When it's essentially from high blood sugars and they might be flirting with Type 2 diabetes themselves."
Reference: Yahoo
If you are a diabetic and do not currently see a podiatrist, call our Glastonbury or Middletown office to make an appointment.
Ayman M. Latif, DPM
Connecticut Foot Care Centers
Diabetic Foot Doctor in CT
Podiatrist in Glastonbury and Middletown, CT
Visit our website, like our page on Facebook, and follow my tweets on Twitter.