The Check-Up: Overweight 25-Year-Olds Die Earlier

• I’ll start with the bad news: Researchers at UNC Chapel Hill are reporting results of a study which found that if you’re overweight at age 25, you’re more likely to die earlier in life—even if you end up shedding weight down the road. The study “showed the risk of dying was 21 percent higher in young adults with a higher body mass index and still 28 percent higher when adjusting for other risk factors such as smoking status, physical activity, and alcohol consumption.” Researchers found more of a correlation with men than women, but among women, being overweight at 25 more greatly impacted black women than white women. Here’s the implication we can all take away: Those extra pounds that have crept up around your midsection? Yeah, they matter—kinda a lot, it turns out, when it comes to long-term health.

• And now, for some good news (for ladies, at least): Harvard researchers have found that women who drink a beer or a small glass of wine everyday are less likely to develop certain chronic diseases later in life—think heart disease, diabetes, cancer—than nondrinkers and those who drink four or more alcoholic beverages in a sitting. How much less likely, you ask? A whopping 50 percent. Now that’s something to toast to.