Triple threat of smoking, drinking and weight ‘puts a million in England at risk of early death’

A lifelong smoking habit reduces someone’s life expectancy by about 10 years and being severely obese does so by a similar amount. Photograph: Martin Lee/Alamy

One in 50 people aged 16 or older in England are at risk of an early death because they smoke, drink too much and are overweight, research has found.

This “triple threat” increases the risk of diseases such as cancer and diabetes and in some cases means people dying 20 years earlier than they should, a senior doctor has said.