New research by Dutch scientists proves what has long been thought - that obese women and men lose substantial amounts of their life.

While in 1962 only 13 percent of the US population was obese, current estimates put the obese population at over a third of all adults. Two thirds of the US population are overweight. The standard way of determining overweight or obese status is by using the BMI of a person. The Body Mass Index takes your weight combined with your height to give a general proportion of fat.

The research indicates:

overweight woman (BMI 25 or over) loses 3 years
obese woman (BMI 30 or over) loses 7 years
overweight man (BMI 25 or over) loses 2 years
obese man (BMI 30 or over) loses 6 years

Overweight and obese people also are far less healthy in their final years. Not only do they die earlier, but their final years are often much more full of pain and hospitalization.

Adding in smoking takes off an additional 7 years of life. So a woman who is both obese and smokes can immediately subtract 14 years from her lifespan - and expect that the years leading up to her death will involve various illnesses and hospitalization.

Giving up smoking and eating more healthily both can turn around these figures in only a few years. Even if you have led an unhealthy life until now - it's never too late to turn over a new leaf!

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