A new study says obesity lowers the chance of having a long and healthy life among middle-aged women.

The study looked at 17,000 women over more than 30 years, and has strong words of warning for the more than 72 million Americans classified as obese.

Arnetta Philson, 59, loves to ride her bike, but despite regular exercise, she has gained 50 pounds in the past ten years since being diagnosed with a thyroid condition.

New data just released from the nurses health study suggests being obese in middle age reduces a woman's likelihood of living a long and healthy life by nearly 80 percent.

In fact, for every two pounds of weight gained since age 18, a woman's odds of being healthy after age 70 decreases by five percent.
"It doesn't surprise me because time living in and everything is processed," said India Harrison, Fredericksburg, Va.

Researchers also found obese women are more likely to suffer from major chronic diseases, such as cancer, heart disease and stroke, as well as mental health problems like dementia later in life.

"Obesity basically destroys our arteries, and our arteries supply all of our organs, so all diseases related to every organ end up going up," says Dr. Patricia Davidson, Washington Hospital Center cardiologist.

Dr. Davidson says obesity is our country's major health care crisis. She says no matter your age, losing weight is crucial to improving your long-term health.

"Losing weight improves everything, we know that losing just one pound results in 2 mm drop in your blood pressure," added Dr. Davidson.

The study only followed women but previous studies have shown similar results for men.

"It's a problem, and everybody needs to be focused on it, but you're focused on a lot of stuff and sometimes doesn't get high priority it should have," said Brenda Sprague, Alexandria (web | news) resident.

The women who fared the worst were overweight at age 18, and gained at least 22 pounds by middle age. But even the women who were lean at age 18 had major health problems later in life if they gained 22 pounds by middle age.

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