Rather, it seems that it is diabetes, which is often associated with obesity, that hikes the risk of developing life-threatening diseases.

In an evaluation of 15,408 people between the ages of 44 and 66, researchers found that diabetes patients had triple the chance of dying prematurely from critical illnesses compared to obese individuals who were not diabetic.

Obese non-diabetics were no more likely to experience organ failure or early death than normal weight non-diabetics.

The study was carried out by investigators from the University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital in Lexington and Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.