Stockholm  - Overweight and obese teenagers face similar risks of premature death in adulthood as adults who smoke more than 10 cigarettes a day, new Swedish research suggests.

Researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm used data from mandatory military conscription tests of some 45,000 18-year-old Swedish men in 1969-1970 for the study.

The data included height, weight and muscle strength, as well as smoking and socio-economic status. The researchers tracked the participants until 2007 to study "all-cause mortality."

The findings suggested a two-fold mortality risk increase in both obese non-smoking men and men of normal weight who smoked more than 10 cigarettes a day.

Being overweight also increased the risk of premature death, irrespective of smoking status, the researchers said, adding that the muscle tests the conscripts underwent helped them differentiate between very muscular men and those who were overweight or obese.

The researchers noted that they had only studied the links in men, and insufficient data for women and mortality risks were also impacted by changes in weight and smoking habits as adults. But these habits and body mass index (BMI) were often set "in early life."

Continued public health campaigns to tackle smoking and problems associated with overweight or obesity could help reduce the risk of premature death, said Dr Martin Neovius at the Department of Medicine, who led the study.

The full results of the study "Combined Effects of Overweight and Smoking in Late Adolescence on Subsequent Mortality: Nationwide Cohort Study" were published February 25 in the online edition of the British Medical Journal. (dpa)