( EW.com ) -- Have you ever seen a Velvet Teddy Bear with rock-hard abs ? American Idol alum Ruben Studdard , who beat Clay Aiken back in 2003 to earn the season 2 crown , is moving on to a new reality competition : The Biggest Loser . Studdard — nicknamed the Velvet Teddy Bear for his cuddly physique and silky-smooth vocals — is ready to change that image in the name of health . EW : 'The Biggest Loser ' gains viewers , but so do Fox toons . `` I 've never had an issue with my weight , '' Studdard , 35 , told People . `` [ But ] my family has a history of high blood pressure , diabetes , heart-related issues — things I did n't have to deal with yet because I 'm young . But I do n't want to be worried at 40 , and if I do n't fix things now , I will be . '' EW : 'Biggest Loser ' trainers wo n't scream at kid contestants . While Studdard is hardly the first celebrity to lose weight on TV — VH1′s `` Celebrity Fit Club '' ran for seven seasons — he is the first famous face to compete on `` The Biggest Loser , '' which returns to NBC this fall . See the original story at EW.com . CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly . © 2011 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. All rights reserved .
The Velvet Teddy Bear would like to shed more weight . I think the reason why people are so concerned about obesity is because they have a hard time accepting that it can be healthy and not just an excuse for laziness. He said he is doing it for his health .