Washington (SmartAboutHealth) - According to a new study, men who are obese when they are in their 20s may die up to a decade sooner when compared directly to men who are considered to be healthy.

The study was led by Esther Zimmermann from the University of Copenhagen, and focused on 5,000 men who were tracked from the age of 20 up until the age of 80.

Researchers tracked the weight of these men, among other things, to see what would have an impact on their lifespan.

What researchers found when they compared death rates of men was that men who were obese at the age of 20 died, on average, 8-years sooner than men who were not obese at that age.

By the time roughly 1,200 of the men made it to the age of 70, 70% of those men were not obese at the age of 20.

An obese man is twice as likely to die at any point during his life when compared to a man who is not obese, no matter what age, according to the study.

Researchers wanted to stress from this study that it is very important for young children and young adults to know the dangers of obesity, for men of all ages.