Tom Hanks Blames America for His Medical Condition at 67 Years of Age: “I grew up in the American economic diet”
Tom Hanks is one of the most celebrated actors in the industry who over the years has been known for his comic and dramatic roles. The actor is widely known for his role as Forrest Gump in the 1994 movie of the same name and is often regarded as an American cultural icon.
The actor has appeared in successful and popular movies including Catch Me If You Can, Saving Private Ryan, The Money Pit, The Terminal, The Pacific, and many more. One of the qualities that people like about the actor is how he has maintained himself over the years but the actor revealed that his lifestyle came with a price. Let’s explore.
Tom Hanks recalls his lifestyle choices, which led to his diagnosis with type 2 diabetes
Actor Tom Hanks revealed in 2013 that he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and during an interview with Radio Times via Express.co.uk, he shared that he should have taken good care of him back in the days when he could. He said,
“I’m part of the lazy American generation that has blindly kept dancing through the party and now finds ourselves with malady. I was heavy. You’ve seen me in movies. You know what I looked like. I was a total idiot.”
The actor noted that he decided to make some alterations in his diet to control his health but it didn’t work. He continued,
“I thought I could avoid it by removing the buns from my cheese burgers. Well, it takes a little bit more than that. My doctor says if I can hit a target weight, I will not have Type 2 diabetes anymore.”
In an interview with Financial Times, he noted about his lifestyle,
“I grew up on the American economic diet of processed food, sugars, carbohydrates, the occasional apple and a green salad.”
The actor had initially revealed about his diagnosis in 2013 during an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman. He also explained that according to his doctor, he should weigh the way he did back when he was a teenager to which he told the doctor that he was probably going to have type 2 diabetes because there was no way he could weigh the way he did in high school.
Tom Hanks keen on making changes to his lifestyle
According to Diabetes Australia, Tom Hanks shared during his promotional tour for Elvis that his family who has a history of diabetes which along with his unhealthy lifestyle contributed to him being diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes adding that he now tries to take care of it.
The actor noted that now he understands that exercising should be an essential part of an individual’s life and for him, it’s a tool that can help him regulate the condition so he shared,
“I try to get, every single day, one hour of activity. That can be anything from treadmill, or a walk or a hike with a dog, but it has to be one hour every single day.”
Elvis actor shared with Radio Time that he now watches what he needs to eat to the point of boredom adding that now and then he cheats to a point of self-loathing.
Also read: Tom Hanks Struggled to Watch Star Wars in Theatre Because of One Surprising Reason
