Doctors have known for years the health risks of being overweight, but a new study shows that being too fat can cut as much as 10 years off your life.
The study in The Lancet, a medical journal, looked at the histories of 4 million nonsmoking adults in 32 countries from 1970 to 2015.
The experts found that those who were overweight died one year earlier than their life expectancy and moderately obese people lost three years off their lives.
The study's lead author, Emanuele Di Angelantonio of the University of Cambridge, said the severely obese can expect to die 10 years prematurely.
The study said being fat is far more dangerous for men than for women.
Experts have already linked obesity to heart disease, stroke and cancer.
The authors recognized how hard it is for many people to lose weight and keep it off. They said it is much easier for overweight people to slim down to normal weight before they reach middle age, rather than later in life.
