​A new study found that obesity is the leading cause of preventable life-years lost in America. Obesity takes away more life years than the other top killers: diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and tobacco.

Weight loss, diabetes management and healthy eating should be the primary concern of the American public if we want to see improvements in these types of illness and death. Forty-seven percent more life-years lost than tobacco were linked to obesity in a recent study.

Helping patients to understand treatment methods, approaches and options could have a significant effect on America's health in the long term. Steps must be taken to get people eating more healthy, less junk food and convincing them to move more.

Bad news for plus sized adults for sure, but it would be great if our society realized that we need to move more, not less. Eat less, eat healthy, drink water and of course, quit smoking. These are all behaviors that can be modified if patients are taught the methods required.

Mary Crawford, HealthCare Employment Network