Not only can gaining new pounds damage your waistline - researches say it may also reduce your lifespan. The epidemic of obesity currently cuts the life expectancy of Americans by 4-9 months. That’s a lot. This reduction is bigger than the negative affect of accidental deaths and homicides. According to researchers at Chicago University of Illinois, today obesity is becoming “younger“, meaning that it more often strikes young Americans. This study didn’t, however, count with the positive factors that may enlarge the life expectancy such as advances in medical technologies, science and education.

Weight problems have now been faced by two-thirds of Americans. They cause heart attacks, cancer, and diabetes risk, according to the New England Journal of Medicine.

"The long-term consequences of the child obesity epidemic have yet to be seen.

"The tsunami of childhood obesity has not yet hit the shore - it takes many years for complications to develop," said David Ludwig, a researcher with the Boston Children's Hospital and co-author of the study.

Scientists pay attention to the increase of children's diabetes caused by obesity. Professor Jay Olshansky, epidemiologist with the University of Illinois in Chicago who led researchers in the work, forecasts a two to five-year reduction in average longevity of Americans over the next few decades due to the rapid increase in obesity levels.

Cancer and cardiovascular illness are two main reasons of death in America. It may, as some researches claim, cancel any longevity gained during the years of progress.