Being fat ‘as deadly as being a smoker’

Obese teenagers run the same risk of premature death in adulthood as people who smoke more than 10 cigarettes a day, according to a new study.

The British Medical Journal study also found that people who are overweight have the same risk as less heavy smokers.

Being underweight carried no increased risk, irrespective of smoking status. However, being seriously underweight (a body mass index of less than 17) carried the same risk of premature death as being overweight.

Early death was also linked to the number of cigarettes participants smoked per day. The risk gradually increased the more participants smoked, with heavy smokers at more than double the risk of premature death compared to non-smokers.