Anthony Anderson: The Power of Sharing My Diabetes Journey
Actor Anthony Anderson shares how losing his father to diabetes and facing his own diagnosis turned him into a passionate patient advocate.
By
Lana Pine
| Published on July 1, 2025
2 min read
When actor and comedian Anthony Anderson speaks about Type 2 diabetes, he doesn’t sugarcoat it. As both a patient and an advocate, Anderson shares his personal journey with the disease, hoping his story will push others — especially men and people of color — to take action before it’s too late.
Anderson’s wake-up call came after losing his father to diabetes complications. Despite living with the disease for 25 years, Anderson’s father never took his condition seriously. That loss motivated Anderson to speak openly about his own diagnosis and inspire others to take control of their health. “I didn’t want that to happen to my children,” Anderson says. “I didn’t want to see other families go through what we went through.”
Since stepping out as an advocate, Anderson says the most rewarding part has been hearing from people who made life-changing decisions after hearing his story. Strangers stop him on the street to say they went to the doctor for the first time, started exercising, lost weight, or lowered their hemoglobin A1c — all because they heard him speak about his journey. “I’ve had people say, ‘I’ve lost 90 pounds because of you,’” he shares.
Anderson knows firsthand that fear often stops people — especially Black men — from seeing a doctor. “We wait until something’s falling off before we go,” he says. To make the message hit home, he compares self-care to car maintenance: “You get your oil changed every 3,000 miles.… Why don’t you get your dipstick checked at the doctor every six months?”
He encourages people to embrace lifestyle changes not as punishment but as lifesaving habits. “You never say you need a vacation from ice cream or white rice, right?” Anderson says with a laugh. “Well, this is something good you’re adding to your life — embrace it.”
For Anderson, advocacy isn’t just about stats or speeches — it’s about connecting with real people, in raw, honest language they understand. The goal: fewer missed checkups, fewer complications and more lives saved.
This transcript was edited for clarity.
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