In a open letter to the Apple community Steve Jobs revealed the reason for his weight loss to quell rumors that he was on his deathbed. Jobs' doctors have diagnosed a "hormone imbalance that is robbing his body of proteins. He has begun treatment and expects it will be late Spring before he regains his body mass.
Jobs notes that he wanted to concentrate on his health over the holidays rather than prepare for Mac World.
His entire letter follows or it can be read at the Apple website.
January 5, 2009
Dear Apple Community,
For the first time in a decade, I'm getting to spend the holiday season
with my family, rather than intensely preparing for a Macworld keynote.Unfortunately, my decision to have Phil deliver the Macworld keynote
set off another flurry of rumors about my health, with some even
publishing stories of me on my deathbed.I've decided to share something very personal with the Apple community so that we can all relax and enjoy the show tomorrow.
As many of you know, I have been losing weight throughout 2008. The
reason has been a mystery to me and my doctors. A few weeks ago, I
decided that getting to the root cause of this and reversing it needed
to become my #1 priority.Fortunately, after further testing, my doctors think they have found
the cause--a hormone imbalance that has been "robbing" me of the
proteins my body needs to be healthy. Sophisticated blood tests have
confirmed this diagnosis.The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and
straightforward, and I've already begun treatment. But, just like I
didn't lose this much weight and body mass in a week or a month, my
doctors expect it will take me until late this Spring to regain it. I
will continue as Apple's CEO during my recovery.I have given more than my all to Apple for the past 11 years now. I
will be the first one to step up and tell our Board of Directors if I
can no longer continue to fulfill my duties as Apple's CEO. I hope the
Apple community will support me in my recovery and know that I will
always put what is best for Apple first.So now I've said more than I wanted to say, and all that I am going to say, about this.
Steve