A new study published in the Lancet¹ follows over 900,000 people and proves conclusively that being overweight shortens your lifespan. Severe obesity can take 10 years off you life, the same risk as a heavy smoker. Moderate obesity (up to 50 pounds overweight) can take 3 years off your life. It is now perfectly clear that being overweight ages your body faster, resulting in early death.

The researchers looked at BMI, a relationship between height and weight. A normal BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9. In this study group men and women whose BMI was between 22.5 and 25 lived longer.

For those with a BMI over 25, every 10 to 12 pound increase translated to about a 30 percent increased risk of dying. In addition, there was a 40 percent increase in the risk for heart disease, stroke and other vascular disease, a 60 percent to 120 percent increased risk of diabetes, liver disease or kidney disease, a 10 percent increased risk of cancer, and a 20 percent increased risk for lung disease, the researchers reported.

“Obesity causes kidney disease, liver disease and several types of cancer, but the most common way it kills is by causing stroke and, most importantly, heart disease. Obesity causes heart disease by pushing up blood pressure, by interfering with blood cholesterol levels, and by bringing on diabetes,” said researcher Gary Whitlock, from the Clinical Trial Service Unit at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.

The easiest way to measure your BMI is to get one of the newer digital scales that readily analyzes your weight, body fat, and BMI. It has also been found that your waistline is an accurate predictor of disease risk and early mortality.

Attaining and maintaining an optimal body weight should be a central theme in any person's anti-aging and health promoting strategy.