As a nation, we seem obsessed with obesity. For instance, there's "My 600 Pound Life" and "1,000-Lb. Sisters" on TV, and "The Whale" in theaters.

While we gawk at those folks (real and fictional), 73.6% of adults age 20 and older in the U.S. are overweight or obese.

There are many causes of the excess weight epidemic, including environmental toxins, poor food availability, and lack of nutritional education. Those factors compound the damage done by unmanaged stress, overeating of poor-quality foods, and lack of physical activity.

And now it turns out that the risks from being an unhealthy weight are even more deadly than we thought.

A recent study out of the University of Colorado Boulder found that excess weight or obesity makes a person's risk of death 22% higher (for those who are overweight) to 91% higher (for those who are very obese) than it would be otherwise.

Another study in the journal Diabetologia found that childhood obesity is linked to subtypes of Type 2 diabetes that occur in adults: severe insulin-deficient diabetes, severe insulin-resistant diabetes, and mild obesity-related diabetes. It also increases the risk for development of late-onset Type 1 diabetes.

Those conditions increase risks for life-shortening complications.

As a nation, our future depends on conquering the challenges of obesity with better nutrition in schools, more physical education, and improved access to healthy foods. But it also takes individual commitment to improving lifestyle habits — more physical activity, better stress management, and smarter food choices.

I'm proud to provide support and solutions, at greatagereboot.com. Together we can reclaim America's health.