To ask what's the gravest longterm health risk - smoking, drinking or obesity?

[Proudnscary]

I drink too much. So does my dh. I'd say probably three times weekly guidelines [bublush].

We don't smoke (well I don't, he has a crafty 2 or 3 a week he thinks I don't know about [buhmm]).

We are not over weight (could possibly do with losing 7lbs each).

Dh therefore says we are fine to indulge in one vice.

He also reckons being morbidly obese and smoking are far worse than drinking.

I say bullshit.

Any doctors, researchers, nurses got a definitive answer? Say if you based it on say the ratio of 20 fags a day v bottle of wine a day v being 2 stone overweight?

Anyone...anyone...Bueller?

All as bad as each other but in different ways. Being slim and not smoking isn't going to stop you damaging your liver from alcohol is it?

Also, if you're looking for ways to excuse your drinking, that's a bit of a worry. Have a good think about it.

As far as I understand it, and I'm not a HCP, almost all smokers die of a smoking related illness.

Having seen two relatives die of cirrhosis of the liver, I can't recommend that either .

And it appears that the more is understood about the effects of obesity, being very overweight contributes to all sorts of horrors.

So, choose your poison as they say, but recognise that there's not much in the way of upside from any of our favourite vices.

3 times as much as the guidelines is a lot tbh.

Hmm. Interesting question.

Half of all people who smoke will die of a smoke-related illness, but alcoholism or obesity cause such a vast array of medical issues that's its probably hard to say.

Obesity can also be a result of alcoholism just to complicate things..

They're all dangerous in their own way. Obesity is usually symptomatic of unhealthy habits i.e. overeating and no exercise. Smoking principally damages lungs and cardiovascular systems. Heavy drinking principally damages the liver.

One wrong doesn't cancel out two rights....

Yes I agree Cadburys. Exactly what I say to my dh.

We had The Conversation where I said we have to cut right down.

It's hard when you both are bad as each other. But of course I can't force him to cut down, I just have to do it myself.

It's all a game of odds really, everyone knows someone who lived to a ripe old age and smoked 40 fags a day as well as someone who was fit and healthy and died from a sudden heart attack.
However, I wouldn't recommend playing chance with your health especially as you do have some control over it. If you arn't overweight and drinking heavily then that's a bit odd as alcohol has plenty of calories, so perhaps you arn't eating well despite your healthy weight.
Anyway to answer your question...I think smoking 20 cigarettes a day is probably the worst vice (not medically trained but based on the years and years and years of anti-smoking campaigns I have watched).

I think I would go with alcoholism, mainly because of how it changes a persons personality and affects their family and friends.

Frog - I am slightly overweight. I need to lose 5lbs to be in my healthy BMI.

I do eat very healthily. Loads of veg, fruit, pulses, fish. Sort of 80/20. 20% being chips/crisps etc, but 80% good fresh stuff.

You are right it's a game of odds and one I'm becoming increasingly unwilling to play.

Smoking is the worst thing you can do for your health. I have seen a health presentation that talks about the cause of preventable premature deaths and smoking causes far more premature deaths than any other negative lifestyle behaviour.

would have thought being obese was alot worse than other two, but that's going on my own family history of smokers (some ex) who are fit as fiddle in their 80s

I feel really sorry for smokers actually - my dh was so addicted. It took him 15 years to give up and he still slips up. It has such a demon grip.

My compulsion to drink feels more like a choice, a weakness. Though I realise I am probably addicted.

The other thing is (denial alert) our wine consumption doesn't sabotage family life - we are always out and about with the dc, taking them to sports early Sat and Sundays, never been late for school or arrangements. So it feels 'okay' when it's not. You know like, tell that to my liver!

southeastastra - how much did they smoke though? It's amazing how some people can get away with it.

Some people do get away with smoking. But I think it is half of all smokers die prematurely from smoking related diseases. Honestly it is the worst thing you can do -apart from more extreme behaviour like shooting up regularly obviously.

well that's the thing isn't is - everyone is different and we can't generalise

Sounds like your diet is good [busmile]. I learnt my health lesson when I was v. young and ate too many sweets and now have too many fillings for my age[bublush].

Since early adolescence therefore I have not taken good health for granted and have done as much as I can to try and stay healthy, so I don't smoke or drink much good diet etc etc but my mouth is a constant reminder that I am not immortal or immune from illness (as I used to believe when I was a child).

My vote is with super morbidly obese.Surely that is going to accelerate your downfall faster than the other two?

But I reckon on a moderate level,smoking is the most likely to cause serious health risks.

souteast - yes. But I asked because people go on about my grandfather drinking and smoking like a trooper and living til 87. But actually he only drank a couple of pints and one scotch a day and gave up smoking at 50.

So there's kind of a mythology built up around some people.

Yes we can generalise. Statistical analysis tells us what is the riskiest behaviour health wise for us. Of course it doesn't apply to every individual. There are individuals like Ozzy Osbourne who were alcoholics and serious drug takers who are still alive, but this doesn't mean that being a heavy user of recreational drugs isn't very risky.

Statistically smoking is the worst legal lifestyle behaviour health wise.

Being overweight (in the BMI category 'overweight', not 'obese') is associated with longer life expectancy* than being 'normal' or any of the other categories, so that's definitely the least risky. You only suffer genuine, properly correlated healthy risks with a BMI over 30 (or under 20).

I suspect smoking is the most risky of those, though it depends how much you are drinking because alcohol above a certain level is toxic- however low levels of alcohol intake in some forms (red wine drinkers rejoice) can be beneficial to health.

*jama.ama-assn.org/content/293/15/1861.full

I lost a good friend to liver disease four or five years ago. She wasn't an alcoholic as far as we knew, enjoyed a glass or two or three of an evening to unwind like a lot of people, but must have been enjoying more than we thought. I found out afterwards that the trouble with liver damage is that it is largely undetectable. A liver can be 60%, 70%, 80% damaged and still function. Then one day, as happened to my friend, it fails without warning and you're up shit creek... fatally, in her case.

Reminds me of those threads where smokers try to justify their habit by saying 'well what about all the overweight people?'

All three of these things are really bad for you, and to convince yourself that not indulging in one or two of them will mitigate the effects of the others is illogical and stupid. I have a couple of friends who smoke, yet go to the gym and exercise a lot which is odd when they don't seem to care about their health.

Your dh is deluding himself op. but you already know that!

Do you have children? Children learn by example so if you do any of these things, smoke, eat badly or drink too much, you're increasing the odds of them following in your footsteps. And trying to hide your drinking, smoking or excess eating from them doesn't usually cut it as kids are pretty switched on

Are you worried that you won't be able to cut down?