Smoking, drinking too much and being overweight ‘puts one in 50 adults in England at risk of early death’

Exclusive: Research finds about 1 million people are living with triple threat' that increases risk of diseases such as cancer or diabetes

One in 50 people aged 16 or older in England are at risk of an early death because they smoke, drink too much and are overweight, research has found.

This triple threat" increases the risk of diseases such as cancer and diabetes and in some cases means people dying 20 years earlier than they should, a senior doctor has said.

12.7% of people in England (5.9 million) are overweight and drink more than 14 units but do not smoke.

5.5% (2.5 million) are overweight and smoke but drink less than 14 units.

1.4% (600,000) smoke and drink more than 14 units but have a normal weight.