Tom Hanks Reveals He Has Type 2 Diabetes
This is no laughing matter. While chatting with funny man David Letterman on Monday, Tom Hanks revealed he has Type 2 diabetes (which occurs when the body doesn’t produce enough insulin to function properly).
Though the "Captain Phillips" star reported that he had suffered from symptoms of the common disease for two full decades, he only received his official diagnosis very recently.
The topic came up almost by chance, when the "Late Night With David Letterman" host complimented Tom on his appearance, noting the star seemed a bit trimmer. Hanks then credited his fluctuating weight with the disease.
"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,'" the "Captain Phillips" star recounted.
So, what's the plan for the star's treatment? Getting back to the shape he was in when he was in high school?
"My doctor said, 'If you can weigh what you weighed in high school, you'll essentially be healthy and not have Type 2 diabetes," Hanks explained before noting that it was an impossible goal. "Well, I'm gonna have Type 2 diabetes because there is no way I can weigh as much as I did in high school," he laughed.
When Letterman asked how much the star had weighed back in the day, Hanks didn't miss a beat. "96 pounds," he quipped. "I was a very skinny boy." Umm ... you can say that again.
While the revelation that his high school weight didn't break triple digits certainly makes an already tall order even taller, something tells us if anyone can get back to varsity team shape, it's this guy.
Hanks's latest film, "Captain Phillips," arrives in theaters on Friday.
