Just as the health police have terrified people about smoking, now they’re faced with the law of unintended consequences. Jeannine Stein in the LA Times reports “Americans have increased their life expectancy by cutting back on cigarettes, but the pounds they’re packing on mean that, ultimately, they could lose ground.”
“A New England Journal of Medicine study published Wednesday looked at previous national health surveys to forecast life expectancy and quality of life for a typical 18-year-old from 2005 through 2020. Declines in smoking over the last 15 years would give that 18-year-old an increased life expectancy of 0.31 years.
O.31 years! That’s all? Better hide that stat from the kids!
Because becoming obese means that the smokeless teen would have a reduced life expectancy of 1.02 years, giving a net life expectancy reduction of 0.71 years.
These numbers stun me.
