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Obesity can take years off your life, and in some cases can be as dangerous as smoking, a new study finds. British researchers at the University of Oxford analyzed 57 studies mostly in Europe and North America after almost a million people for an average of 10 to 15 years. Meanwhile, about 100,000 of these people died.

Studies have used body mass index (BMI), a measure that divides a person's weight in kilograms by height in meters squared to determine obesity. The researchers found that mortality rates were lower among those with a BMI of 23 to 24 years, in the upper range of normal.

Health officials generally define overweight as a BMI between 25 and 29 years, and the obese than those with a BMI greater than 30.

The study was published online Wednesday in the medical journal The Lancet. It was funded by the UK Medical Research, the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK and others.

"If you go to obesity may be a good idea to lose weight," said Sir Richard Peto, the study statistician and professor at the University of Oxford.

Peto and colleagues found that people who were moderately fat, with a BMI of 30 to 35 years, lost nearly three years. People who were morbidly fat - those with a BMI above 40 - lost about 10 years off their life expectancy, similar to the effect of continued smoking.

Moderately obese people were 50 percent more likely to die prematurely than people of normal weight, said Gary Whitlock, an epidemiologist at Oxford University, who led the study.

He said that obese people are also two thirds more likely to die of a heart attack or stroke, and up to four times more likely to die from diabetes problems, kidney or liver disease. They were sixth as likely to die of cancer.

"This highlights the importance of weight gain," said Dr. Arne Astrup, a nutrition professor at the University of Copenhagen who was not linked to the Lancet study. "Even a small increase in your BMI is enough to increase their risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer."

Previous studies have shown increased mortality rates above and below a normal BMI score, and that people who are moderately overweight people live longer than underweight or normal.

Other experts said that because the documents used in the study started mostly between 1975 and 1985, its conclusions were not as relevant today.

Astrup worried that rising obesity rates may reverse the declines of heart disease seen in the West.

"Obesity is the new dark horse for public health officials," he said. "People need to be aware of the risks they take when they gain weight."