Janet Jackson is in the best shape of her life or at least that’s what she recently claimed, thanks to Nutrisystem. But it hasn’t always been that way for the superstar. For decades, she’s struggled with body image issues and watched her frame shrink and balloon on camera. And in a recent interview, she says her weight problem got so bad that she feared she would get diabetes.
Jackson claims that she was at her heaviest in 2005, when she was reportedly preparing for a film role. But her weight gain affected more than her appearance; it affected her health too.
“Health was always a concern,” Jackson told Prevention. “When I gained weight in 2005, my nutritionist was very worried. I was close to having diabetes. Even when I lost it and then gained quite a bit back, there was always the thought of heart disease.”
Now that she’s the newest spokesperson for Nutrisystem, Jackson claims that she can relate to users of the diet plan because of her own bad eating habits and history of yo-yo dieting.
“I think people really connect with the idea of someone who’s gained and lost weight in this very public way, and also someone who’s an emotional eater,” Jackson said. “Chocolate, cake, caramel apples — there aren’t many things I don’t love.”
Though Jackson is enjoying her new, healthier frame, she says that she’s still worried about going too far with her diet and falling prey to her own body image issues and need for perfection.
“Knowing I have these problems with body image, I ask my friends and family to tell me when I’ve lost too much too,” Janet confessed. “Because I will continue to pick on myself, like all women do, and say, you need to [lose] more here, more there.”
Well, thankfully, Jackson never got diabetes, but there are many other celebs who do suffer from the disease. Check out some of those stars below. – nicholas robinson
