Rev. Run promotes his weight loss; advocates for diabetes

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Run-D.M.C. co-founder Joseph “Rev. Run” Simmons’ recent weight loss for a concert has inspired him to keep up with the diet and exercise routine, not just to look and feel good, but to combat what he says is his higher-than-average risk for Type 2 diabetes.

Simmons started his weight loss regimen because he was headlining the 7th Annual Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, Texas with Darryl “D.M.C” McDaniels, and said he felt good and had a lot of energy.

Simmons has dropped 22 pounds so far, and he told Huffington Post, “I just did a concert with D.M.C. after 13 years, and after losing some pounds for that, I felt really good … We got good reviews for having lots of energy on stage and I realized that if I’m going to continue to do shows … I gotta be in Mick Jagger-type of condition.”

At 48, Simmons said he’s getting up there in age and needs to be more health conscious because his father developed diabetes in his older age.

Although Simmons is in part motivated by the history of diabetes in his family, Jeannette Jordan, a diabetes educator who works for Novo Nordisk’s “Ask. Screen. Know.” says that diabetes being hereditary is a myth.

Ask.Screen.Know. is a national program that advocates for early diabetes screening and detection and Simmons is an ambassador for the initiative.

Though he mentions relying on to his brother, Russell Simmons, and his daughter daughter Angela Simmons for support, Rev. Run added, “My dad had diabetes, so it doesn’t mean just because Russell stands on his head and does yoga, and Angela’s in perfect health that they don’t have it.”

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