'Singing and dancing for a career means you have to be fit, but ice cream is my vice': Singer and TV personality Donny Osmond answers our health quiz

By Roz Lewis for the Daily Mail

Published: 17:20 EST, 9 January 2017 | Updated: 19:07 EST, 9 January 2017

CAN YOU RUN UP THE STAIRS?

Yes, I’m very fit. My security guy can’t keep up with me. 

Singing and dancing for a career means you have to be fit and I do core strength, balance and footwork exercises. I hike and ski, too.

GET YOUR FIVE-A-DAY?

I try. I love peas because my parents grew them and I have fond memories of eating them raw. 

Donny Osmond (pictured) says singing and dancing for a career means you have to be fit, and he does core strength, balance and footwork exercises

Years ago, when I was in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in Chicago, I rented a farmer’s field so we could pick and eat them again. 

I eat fruit, but I’m mindful of sugar, so I prefer vegetables.

POP ANY PILLS?

I take a range of supplements because on the road, the food sometimes isn’t great. But I’m in good health for a 59-year-old.

EVER DIETED?

Never. I put on a few pounds when I’m on holiday but it drops off when I start performing again. 

I eat chicken and fish, and steak occasionally. But I don’t drink caffeinated drinks or sugary soft drinks. I am 5ft 9in and weigh about 11 ½st (163 lb).

ANY VICES?

Haagen-Dazs chocolate chocolate chip ice cream. 

It doesn’t last very long in my freezer. I don’t drink alcohol and I’ve never smoked. 

Donny Osmond (left) and Marie Osmond (right), taken from the 70s television programme Donny & Marie

Years ago, people used to poke fun at The Osmonds because of our clean-living lifestyle — but now being healthy is cool.

EVER HAVE PLASTIC SURGERY?

I did have a bump on my chin removed and I’ve tried Botox but putting a toxin in my system worried me, so I stopped.

MOST SERIOUS ACCIDENT?

I herniated two discs in my neck while surfing in 2004 and had a metal plate inserted just behind my Adam’s apple, to fuse the discs. 

It was very scary as there was a chance my vocal cords could be damaged by the surgery, but if I hadn’t had the operation I might have lost the use of my right arm, also affected by the accident. 

Donny Osmond (middle) performing in Las Vegas last year, as part of the unveiling of the Donny & Marie wax figures at the Flamingo Hotel & Casino

I was lucky. It took 16 weeks to retrain my voice with a coach. 

In 2009, when I was doing Dancing With The Stars, I pulled a tendon off the bone in my hip which was painful and needed surgery. 

Then a year and a half ago, I lost my voice because of a polyp on my vocal cords, which had to be removed. 

I feared I would never be able to sing again, but it was fine.

HAD ANYTHING REMOVED?

My appendix, when I was 14. It had burst and I was told I could have died.

TRIED ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES?

I see a homeopathic practitioner in Utah. I don’t buy into it 100 per cent.

Donny (pictured) says he suffered an injury while he was performing in Dancing With The Stars in 2009. He pulled a tendon off the bone in his hip and needed surgery

EVER BEEN DEPRESSED?

Yes, when my career wasn’t going well in the Eighties, but not clinical depression.

HOW WELL DO YOU SLEEP?

Normally I get seven hours a night, but five years ago I suffered badly from insomnia. 

I’ve learned through therapy and self-hypnosis how to deal with it.

LIKE TO LIVE FOR EVER?

No — maybe to 106 or 107. But ageing is part of life. 

Besides, from a spiritual perspective I expect to see my loved ones again after I die.

The Soundtrack of My life UK Tour 2017 begins January 21, at Manchester Arena (donny.com)

 

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