November 17, 2006

More than 150 delighted children and parents from the MassGeneral Hospital for Children's (MGHfC) Pediatric Diabetes Center were treated to a special visit from actor and former professional wrestler Dwayne Johnson, also known as "The Rock." In town filming a movie, Johnson visited the MGHfC Pediatric Diabetes Center's Halloween party to talk to children about healthy eating and regular exercise, two good habits that are especially important for children with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

At the party (left), kids enjoyed healthy snack alternatives to traditional Halloween sweets, and Johnson signed autographs and posed for photos with the children and their families. As "The Rock," Johnson often would ask the wrestling audience "Can you smell what the Rock is cookin'?" Johnson asked the kids this question and told them that if they walked by his house, they would smell broccoli cooking, because he believes in eating healthily.

"It was wonderful to welcome Dwayne Johnson, 'The Rock,' an action film hero who also devotes his time to helping children in hospitals," says Lynne L. Levitsky, MD, chief of the Pediatric Endocrine Unit. "We were so pleased that he was willing to give his time to energize the children, whose good health depends upon lifestyle change and motivation."