You know obesity can lead to a lot of serious health problems, but did you know it kills more than 25,000 people a year in the United States? Now a new study finds weighing too much can take up to ten years off your life. Researchers from Oxford University in England say if you’re 40 or more pounds over a healthy weight, you may be cutting about three years off your life, mostly from heart disease and stroke. And if you’re about 100 or more pounds over a healthy weight, you could be shortening your life by as many as 10 years.
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I referenced this in a recent blog. Didn’t they mention that being overweight is as deadly as smoking 2 packs of cigarettes a day? I had a rather profound moment while my mom was being treated for lung cancer several years ago. I was standing in line at a gas station and the guy in front of me was buying cigarettes. I was on my way home with my mother waiting out in the car after an especially difficult night during her treatment and I wanted so badly just to tell this guy how he was killing himself. I really worked myself up internally and then looked into my own hands….holding a package of twinkies and realized what a hypocrite I was being. I think then is when I realized I was doing the same darn thing but with different ammunition.
Michelle – Yes, they mentioned smoking in this study, but it has also come out in a couple of other ones, as well. Scary comparison, isn’t it? And wow – what a profound moment you had.