Queen Latifah Wants to Lose Pounds, Fend Off Diabetes

Jan. 17, 2008 — -- Queen Latifah has reigned over music and movies and now she wants to tackle her weight.

But Latifah, who recently won a Golden Globe for best actress in "Life Support," told "Good Morning America" that she didn't become a Jenny Craig spokeswoman to end up stick thin.

Instead, the star with the generous curves is aiming to lose up to 20 pounds as a way to fend off diabetes.

"This is not about losing weight. This is about health," Latifah said. "It's not an image thing. I'm really content with my body image. I can get content and I know it. Sometimes I need inspiration."

The actress, who stars alongside Katie Holmes and Diane Keaton in her latest movie, "Mad Money," said her family has a diabetic history and she wants to inspire others to prevent the disease.

"I saw a blip that said if you lose 5 to 10 percent of your body weight, you can cut your diabetes in half," said Latifah, who wants to drop 15 to 20 pounds. "I enlisted everybody. As soon as they heard I might be doing Jenny Craig, they all called and said I want to do it with you. My sister is doing it. Two aunts are doing it. My partner Shakim is doing it. My dad is going to do it. My mom wants to lose 15 pounds."

Latifah said she believes doing this publicly will keep her motivated and said her biggest problem isn't eating incorrectly.

"It's probably portion size. I eat a really varied diet. I don't each a bunch of fried foods. I eat too much of everything I really love, and occasionally I like to have a nice cocktail," quipped the Grammy and Tony winner.

As Latifah looks to diet to change one aspect of her life, it also mirrors her new movie's theme, where three unlikely women scheme to loot money.

"Maybe because I came from humble beginnings, the idea of having this kind of money, tax free, is very exciting — for the common man as well," she said.

But Latifah had a word of advice. In the movie, one of the characters loads up on $1 bills and hides them in her underwear.