Janet Jackson Talks Weight Loss Struggles In Prevention Magazine

By Popular Critic | Published on June 6, 2012

Janet Jackson can’t escape questions around her drastic weight loss. As the latest spokesperson for NutriSystem Janet has whipped back into shape and shows off her newly svelte frame as the covergirl for Prevention magazine’s July issue. In the issue Janet also dished on her niece Paris Jackson joining show business and her guilty pleasures. Check out some excerpts below:

On her weight loss:
“When I gained weight in 2005, my nutritionist was very worried. I was close to having diabetes. Even when I lost it [and] then gained quite a bit back, there was always the thought of heart disease … Knowing I have these problems with body image, I ask my friends and family to tell me when I’ve lost too much. Because I will continue to pick on myself like all other woman do, and say, ‘You need to [lose] more here, more there.’”

On her guilty pleasures:
“Chocolate, cake, caramel apples – there aren’t many things I don’t love.”

On her niece Paris wanting to become an actress:
“We’ve spoken about the fact that you’re only a child once. I think there’s a time for everything, and now is not the time [to act in films]. I told her I thought she should enjoy being a kid, possibly go to college – or not – but wait till she turns 18. She’s a very tough, smart girl. But it’s a cutthroat industry. I wouldn’t want my child to do it.”

On exercise:
“I don’t like to workout, and I get bored easily. [My trainer] Tony Martinez is great. When I’m getting ready for a tour, I’ll work out with the dancers. He’ll put us in teams and we’ll do all sorts of drills and races.”

Subscribe To The ABS Newsletter — Get our stories in your inbox.

Independent journalism still matters.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way