Obesity kills: These new numbers prove it

I’ve said before that obesity kills. But a new study offers some hard numbers to prove that point.

Researchers examined data on 4,000 people from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and found that morbidly obese people could lose up to eight years of life. Obese people could lose up to six years. And those who were overweight could lose up to three years.

In addition, overweight people lost more healthy years than those at a normal weight. In other words, they spend more of the years they do have left sick and/or disabled.

And the earlier a person gained excess weight, the worse the outcome.

I’ve talked many times about how deadly the obesity epidemic is. But now even mainstream medicine is waking up to the sobering reality of the situation.

In fact, the lead researcher of this study made a point you’ve heard me make dozens of times: “In terms of life-expectancy,” he notes, “being overweight is as bad as cigarette smoking.”

Finally! Someone else is speaking up!

As I’ve said many, many times before—if the government would put as much energy into stopping obesity as it did into the stop-smoking campaigns, our nation wouldn’t be nearly as fat.

But until the powers-that-be get on board, it’s up to you to use these numbers as motivation to change.

Do something— today—to get some of those years back. Start by skipping the breakfast pastry, cutting the sugar out of your coffee, and replacing that turkey club sandwich with some roasted turkey and ham from the deli, wrapped around thick slices of avocado.

These are the sorts of small steps that add up to big health benefits—and more healthy years to spend with the people you love.