Illinois Governor JB Pritzker discloses Type 2 diabetes diagnosis and 80-pound weight loss on GLP-1 medication

Shared facts · Agreed across sources

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker publicly disclosed Monday that he was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes approximately two years ago and has since lost 80 pounds after beginning a GLP-1 medication. Pritzker, 61, said he also took insulin initially but stopped nine months ago, and his office confirmed his health markers now indicate no diabetes or prediabetic levels. He made the disclosure in interviews with CBS News and the Chicago Sun-Times.

2 sources

Two sources · Thin corroboration

80-lb weight loss

GLP-1 + insulin combo

Insulin stopped 9 mo. ago

Pritzker said his doctors warned him two years ago that he would likely need insulin for the rest of his life after his Type 2 diabetes diagnosis. He recalled his physician recommending a GLP-1 medication, and said the appetite-suppressing effects were nearly immediate: "It was the strangest feeling," he told CBS. His wife, MK Pritzker, told CBS she supported the decision, saying, "I want him to be around for a really long time."

Diabetes diagnosed ~age 59

Father died at 39

The governor said he has struggled with his weight since childhood, which he attributes in part to what he called "bad genes." His father, Donald Pritzker, died of a heart attack at age 39 in 1972, when JB Pritzker was 7 years old. Pritzker told CBS he had closely monitored his cholesterol, triglycerides, and other health markers for years because of that family history, but said the stress of leading the state contributed to additional weight gain after he took office.

Gridiron 'Wegovy' joke

President Donald Trump has publicly commented on Pritzker's weight in the past, calling him a "fat slob" on social media, according to the Washington Examiner. Pritzker addressed those remarks directly, saying, "I think that it's funny to me now that the president still calls me a fat slob … it's more like the content of your character that matters more." Pritzker also made a lighthearted reference to his weight loss earlier this year at the Gridiron Club dinner in Washington, D.C., telling the audience, "I'm the guy who put 'gov' in 'Wegovy,'" according to Politico.