Gov. JB Pritzker revealed Monday that he has been taking a GLP-1 drug and has lost 80 pounds.
For the past year, Pritzker has dodged answering the question directly but now disclosed he has been taking one of the popular weight loss drugs.
The information came as Pritzker spoke to NBC Chicago’s political reporter Mary Ann Ahern in a one-on-one interview slated to air on television at 5 p.m. Monday.
Pritzker is often mentioned as a potential 2028 presidential candidate.
Pritzker said he has battled being overweight most of his life and more than a year ago was diagnosed as a Type 2 diabetic and placed on insulin. At the same time, he began taking a GLP-1 drug as part of the treatment and, for more than 18 months, has also been walking nearly 4 miles a day.
As of Monday, he is no longer on insulin and has lost about 80 pounds.
The Illinois governor said his own father died when he was just 39 years old and Pritzker’s doctors have kept a close eye onhis health.
The governor noted “my physician has always said to me, ‘We’re going to check your blood levels, everything, every time you come in.’”
More than a year ago, the doctor told him “‘Your glucose is high. You’re in pre-diabetic level glucose.'”
“And I thought, ‘Well, that’s never happened before. So, what do I do?’” Pritzker told NBC Chicago.
When diet and exercise didn’t make a difference and he returned to the doctor, he learned he “had jumped right over the level of I’m diabetic.”
Type II to be specific.
“That wasn’t really high, but it’s in the range and the doctor said ‘You’re going to need to start going on insulin’ and I said‘Insulin? Wait a minute, I don’t want to be on insulin, that seems like something I’m going to have to do the rest of my life.’”
Pritzker said he not only took insulin, he was also prescribed a GLP-1. He credited that weight loss drug with the largest weight loss he’s ever experienced.
Pritzker said being overweight most of his life“I never felt like I was being held back so much, but again losing weight tends to be freeing and gives you opportunities that you didn’t have before.”
When asked if the governor was also motivated to lose the weight as he considers a White House run, Pritzker said “I know everybody’s trying to attribute it, like timing and so on.”
“There’s gonna be an election in 2028 for president and I’ve been talked about in that way, but that isn’t the reason I’ve been losing weight. I have to tell you, whatever the reason that motivates people and for me, it’s been my family and the fact that I really have a history here that would indicate that I’m at risk. And so, if I can overcome it, maybe it’s a good thing to let everybody know.”
Weight loss didn’t come with effort, however, Pritzker said.
“I was really focused on this. I did not want to, you know, having to, you know, have insulin and carry it with me everywhere and do it everyday.”
He said “it’s a new world with these GLP-1s” and “even the doctor said he’s seeing more and more and more people who are succeeding at doing what I did.”
More than 100 million Americans are considered overweight. It’s estimated nearly 28 million are on a GLP-1 drug.
Pritzker did not disclose which one he is on, however at a Gridiron Dinner he joked “I’m the gov who put gov in Wegovy.” He told NBC 5 “I don’t know which one people should be on and I don’t want to say this is the one that works right.”
The state of Illinois covers GLP-1 use for state employees, with physician approval.
“I really do believe it’s saving the state money because I think about the number of people who no longer are on insulin or never become a diabetic because of the GLP1 or they lose weight and they’re less likely to get some of serious disease,” Pritzker said.
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