Are you fat? Do you smoke? You'll die early, but you already know that.

If you're fat, you're as likely to die early as if you smoke.

According to a story published by Medscape:

Obesity in adolescents may confer the same risk for premature death in adulthood as smoking more than 10 cigarettes a day, and even overweight has a risk comparable with that for less heavy smoking, according to the results of a record linkage study reported in the February 25 Online First issue of the BMJ.

Now everyone knows that smoking is bad for you. Going back to the 1920s, we've known. That's right--we don't need commercials and warnings. We all know it.

Same goes for being obese. It's bad for the heart, the joints, the hormones, for everything your body is designed to do. It makes you slower, less capable, and affects every process of your body. And nobody thinks it's healthy.

So how many more studies do we need? How much more nanny-state finger-wagging should we tolerate? Let people smoke. Let people overeat. It's a free country. The only ones who deserve better are kids. Don't overfeed your kids, and don't make them breathe smoke.