Excessive Weight Can Strike 8 Years Off Lives of Young Men

While we realize that unhealthy weight can cause a myriad of diseases, I don't think any of us felt that young people could be losing a number of years off their lives.

A new Danish study, as reported by the AP, said that men who are obese by age 20 die eight years earlier on average than their non-obese peers.

Another interesting fact that was presented at the International Congress on Obesity in Stockholm is that obesity usually develops before the age of 20 and that most people are unlikely to develop obesity later in life.

The research, led by Esther Zimmermann of Copenhagen University Hospital, found that the risk of premature death in already obese men increased 10% for every point surpassing the healthy level of 25 body mass index points.

As for women, last year a study published in the medical journal BMJ said obesity could slash women's chances of reaching the age of 80 in good health by nearly 80% The researchers found that for every one-point increase in their body mass index women had a 12% lower chance of surviving to age 70 in good health.

A British study published in Lancet in 2009 found that people with a body mass index from 30 to 35 die about three years earlier than normal, while those who were morbidly fat, with an index above 40, die about a decade earlier.