Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson New Ambassador of Diabetes Aware Campaign

While 24 million people in America are living with diabetes today, about a quarter of them aren’t even aware of it. To encourage people to prevent developing the disease and to raise awareness about diabetes itself, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is serving as the new ambassador of the Diabetes Aware Campaign.

I have to say that they picked a pretty good spokesperson. I wasn’t much a fan of “The Rock” as a wrestler, but once he started acting I thought, “Hmm, that’s one handsome fella” or some warped, drooling sentiment to that effect. If there’s anyone who knows how to stay fit, he’s probably it, right?

According to Men’s Health, it would seem so. A fan of brown rice, broccoli and lean meat, Johnson doesn’t count calories. Instead, he focuses on short but frequent workouts. He also believes in “cheating” once in a while—meaning, allowing yourself to have pizza or a similar item once a week.

Of his new position as Ambassador, Johnson says, “I’m honored to serve as an ambassador to the Diabetes Aware campaign, and I want to encourage families to be active and eat right. Small steps can go a long way in managing diabetes, its complications, and raising healthy, active children.” Johnson does have a daughter of his own, Simone Alexandra Johnson, who is eight years old.

Along with Johnson, Novo Nordisk and the Entertainment Industry Foundation will continue to serve as representatives of the Diabetes Aware campaign. Johnson will be serving in a public service announcement aimed at teaching families the importance of being healthy and active, as well as how prevalent diabetes is in our world today. The PSA, headlined “An active family is a diabetes aware family,” is going to promote going outdoors, playing games, and being active together as a family.

You can see a scrumdillyumptious picture of the campaign featuring Johnson here.

Johnson follows a long line of celebrity ambassadors for the Diabetes Aware campaign. Past celebrities have included Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Kline, Halle Berry, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Jon Lovitz.

It’s important to find out if you have diabetes as early as possible. Some signs of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes include unquenchable thirst, fatigue, a frequent need to urinate, numbness of the limbs, weight loss, blurred vision, and itchy skin. If you have these symptoms or are simply worried about your risk, be sure to talk to your doctor.

You can find out more and get a free care plan and management tools at Changing Life with Diabetes.