Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker discloses Type 2 diabetes diagnosis and 80-pound weight loss on GLP-1 medication
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker publicly disclosed Monday that he was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes two years ago and has since lost 80 pounds while taking a GLP-1 medication. The 61-year-old Democrat made the announcement across several interviews, including one with CBS Mornings. Pritzker, who stopped taking insulin nine months ago, said his health markers have improved to prediabetic or non-diabetic levels.
Two sources · Thin corroboration
Pritzker told CBS News that doctors warned him after his diabetes diagnosis that he would likely need insulin for the rest of his life and recommended he begin a GLP-1 medication. He said the effects on his appetite were noticeable within days. "It was the strangest feeling," he said, according to Politico. His governor's office confirmed that, combined with improved diet and exercise, he is no longer on insulin and his levels now indicate no diabetes or prediabetic status.
The governor said he has struggled with his weight since childhood, an experience he partly attributes to "bad genes," according to the Washington Examiner. He noted that his father, Donald Pritzker, died of a sudden heart attack at age 39 in 1972, when JB Pritzker was 7 years old. He told the Chicago Sun-Times he had not fully registered the change in his appearance until seeing photos and video from two years prior. "Wow, that's quite a difference," he said.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly commented on Pritzker's weight, calling him a "fat slob" in past social media posts. Pritzker addressed those remarks in interviews, saying, "I think it's funny to me now that the president still calls me a fat slob," while adding that he had not publicly responded in kind because he believes "it's more like the content of your character that matters more," as reported by the Washington Examiner.