Tom Hanks has spoken candidly about his battle with Type 2 diabetes. The 59-year-old actor revealed that he blames himself for not having followed a healthier diet when he was younger, explaining that it has led to his health struggles today.
© Photo: Getty ImagesTom Hanks has blamed his previous unhealthy diet for his diabetes
"I'm part of the lazy American generation that has blindly kept dancing through the party and now finds ourselves with a malady," the Saving Private Ryan star told the Radio Times. "I was heavy. You've seen me in movies, you know what I looked like. I was a total idiot."
He added: "I thought I could avoid it by removing the buns from my cheeseburgers. Well, it takes a little bit more than that."
The Cast Away actor went on to explain that he is still hoping to overcome his diabetes by following a healthy diet and losing weight. "My doctor says if I can hit a target weight, I will not have Type 2 diabetes anymore," he revealed.
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe actor struggles with Type 2 diabetes
Tom first revealed that he was diagnosed with diabetes in 2013, during an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman, admitting that he had been struggling with high blood sugar for years.
"I went to the doctor and he said, 'You know those high blood sugar numbers you've been dealing with since you were 36? Well, you've graduated! You've got Type 2 diabetes young man,'" he told David, before adding that "it's controllable".
Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body doesn't produce enough insulin to function properly and, unlike Type 1 which is a lifelong condition, can develop later in life.
© Photo: Getty ImagesTom's wife Rita Wilson overcame cancer last year
It's no doubt been an emotional few years for the actor, whose wife Rita Wilson was diagnosed with cancer – and after undergoing a mastectomy and reconstructive surgery, revealed she was cancer-free in April last year.
"Rita and I are lucky because we can afford the best healthcare in the world, we knew that blessing right off, but while it was happening, all I could do was bow down before the courage of my wife," the Oscar-winner told the Daily Mail a few months after the happy news.
