Tom Hanks has revealed that he has been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes . During an appearance Monday night on `` Late Show With David Letterman '' to promote his new film `` Captain Phillips , '' the actor said his physician told him he had moved from a prediabetic state to having the disease . `` I went to the doctor and he said , 'You know those high blood sugar numbers you 've been dealing with since you were 36 ? Well , you 've graduated , ' `` Hanks told Letterman. `` 'You 've got Type 2 diabetes , young man . ' `` With diabetes , a person 's blood sugar is not well-regulated , and the body either does not produce enough insulin to function properly or the cells in the body do not react to the insulin present . Fast Facts : Diabetes . Hanks is one of several celebrities , including Paula Deen and Sherri Sheppard , who have gone public with having diabetes . Weight is often a factor in the disease , and while Hanks appeared fit on `` Letterman , '' his weight has fluctuated over the years for various roles . In 1992 he reportedly gained 30 pounds to play coach Jimmy Dugan in `` A League of Their Own . '' He told Entertainment Weekly in 2000 that he lost more than 50 pounds for his role in the film `` Cast Away . '' The `` Forrest Gump '' star said his condition is manageable through diet , and Letterman said that he too has high blood sugar . Hanks joked that he ca n't follow his doctor 's advice to return to his high school weight to help control his diabetes . `` And I said to ( the doctor ) , 'Well I 'm gon na have Type 2 diabetes , ' `` Hanks joked . `` Because there is no way I was gon na weigh what I weighed in high school . ... I weighed 96 pounds in high school . '' Controversy surrounds 'Captain Phillips '
The actor told David Letterman he has Type 2 diabetes . Tom Hanks ' weight has fluctuated over the years with roles . Hanks said the condition is controllable .