Lost Years

I read this article about how Sir Richard Peto and other colleagues at the University of Oxford found that living obese can shave as much as 10 years off of your lifespan. Peto says, "people who were moderately fat, with a BMI from 30 to 35, lost about three years of life. People who were morbidly fat — those with a BMI above 40 — lost about 10 years off their expected lifespan, similar to the effect of lifelong smoking." Everyone talks about how smoking is so bad for you, which it is, but people need to know the serious effects of being obese.


This study also shows that obese people are two thirds more likely to die from a heart attack or stroke, and four times more likely to have diabetes. All of these chronic diseases point morbidity and an earlier death. Dr. Arne Astrup, a professor of nutrition at the University of Copenhagen was quoted as saying, "Obesity is the new dark horse for public health officials," he said. "People need to be aware of the risks they're taking when they gain weight." Present and future Public Health workers need to be aware of how dangerous obesity is and how seriously we need to take this condition. This article has really made me more aware of the dangers of being obese and has really motivated me to work as hard as I can to get more information to people about this.