Famed for her "how ya doing" relaxed style, talk show host Wendy Williams visited Dr. Mehmet Oz's talk show on October 4 to dish on topics ranging from the ideal waist size to essential tests for women. Plus: Find out symptoms of thyroid disease that can impact your weight.
At 49, Wendy weighs 175 pounds and is six feet tall. She and Dr. Oz discussed why your waist size is an important measurement of your health. A waist size larger than 35 inches increases your risk of life-threatening conditions such as heart disease. Wendy proudly showed off her 30-inch waistline. Because she's almost 50, Dr. Oz talked with her about other tests and measurements of health that are important as we grow older, including a colonoscopy and mammogram.
Ever noticed that Wendy frequently wears wigs? There's a reason: Her thyroid disease resulted in thin hair, a common symptom. But Wendy didn't initially know that she had this condition, and visited a doctor only when she experienced other symptoms.
Wendy first noticed signs that something were wrong when she suddenly started losing weight and sweating a lot.
“I thought, thank God, my metabolism has finally caught up to my ravenous appetite,” Wendy told Real Health magazine about her weight loss. “I loved the way I looked. But besides the sweat, my eyes looked popped out a lot. It was brought to my attention by my family, so I went to the doctor.”
The doctor sent her to an endocrinologist, and it turned out that "most likely the stress had triggered the thyroid condition,” Wendy revealed. “[My weight loss] wasn’t my metabolism catching up. It was hyperthyroidism.”
Wendy had the most common form, known as Graves’ disease. Symptoms include hot flashes, weight loss and the "pop eyes" that Wendy mentioned. And it also resulted in her hair issues.
“I’d say that thyroid disease probably has about 25 percent to do with my hair being thin overall, even though I was born with thin hair and a majority of it is inherited,” Wendy noted.
Now, however, she's proud of her wig collection, she told Dr. Oz.
