Janet Jackson: 'I Was Close to Having Diabetes'

Janet Jackson shows off her svelte figure on the cover of Prevention‘s July issue, on newsstands May 29.

Here’s what the 46-year-old singer had to share:

On shedding the pounds: “Health was always a concern. 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 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.”

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

On giving advice to her niece, Paris Jackson: “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.”