photo by steed media service

When Academy Award-nominated director John Singleton began casting for his 2001 drama, Baby Boy, he knew just the actress to portray the mother of Jody, the emotionally stunted lead. The script called for an actress to appear close in age to her young son, but possess the maturity of a matriarch - enter the deceptively youthful A.J. Johnson.

"Ironically, a lot of roles have been hard for me because of this," says Johnson of her appearance. "They say, 'OK, we know you did House Party, so you clearly aren't 17. What are we gonna do with you, because you look 20?' "

Johnson's girlish figure isn't solely due to genetics. After unexpectedly losing both her parents to health complications, she decided to leverage her status as an actress and educate the community on the power of prevention.

Through her fitness company, The A.J. Zone, Johnson has had the opportunity to work with celebrities like Gabrielle Union and Beyoncé. Now, with her partnership with Alli weight loss, she's taking her message to the masses.

"Sixty-five pecent of African Americans are overweight or obese. That rate goes up per city, 10,000 [people] per year," explains Johnson of the frightening statistics. "Healthy living is a lifestyle. Alli is a pill that helps the results of healthy living happen faster."

Johnson stresses that Alli isn't a magical pill; however, if coupled with simple lifestyle changes, it can be the difference between life and death.

"Sunday, you get together for family dinner," explains Johnson. "OK, that's cool. Can you go for a walk afterwards? Once a week, can we play softball as a family? We can redefine our culture, so that it really does save our lives. Healthy can be fun. It can be sexy." -adam jones

For more information, visit www.myalli.com.

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