According to the American Heart Association, In North America alone there is someone losing life to coronary heart disease ever 15 seconds.....
How much of a load can we put onto one single person? Someone who is no different than you or I, simply has more or perhaps only different education and schooling than us.  It seems over the recent decades, people in general have decided that overweightness is a sickness, and we have to go to the Doctor and ask why are we so unwell and can you fix it?  In my experience the Doctor says something like, do this to eleviate your immediate discomfort but to actually remedy the issue you will need to quit smoking or lose weight and in some cases (like mine a number of years ago) do both.  The Doctors have been telling their patients for ever and ever that to be healthy they have to not burden their body with excessive fat storage and that smoking will cause damage somewhere, sometime, somehow, and still they/we (the complaining patients) don't take the required steps to make the lifestyle changes neccessary for optimal health until they are in hospital getting surgery for some organ failure.  Then the Doctor is again expected to repair the damage and fix the patient.  The Doctor does an AMAZING job fixing the damage done to the coronary artery system and the heart and or lungs or liver or kidneys, and then what?  Do these patients finally see the light and learn about eating healthy foods and getting exercise to reduce fat storage on the body or just to make sure all the systems are continuing to function well under all conditions, work-sleep-and play. I guess that probably all Doctors hope that their patients will get it and discontinue the physical abuse that we suffer when we allow ourselves to get overweight or obese.  However they are very aware of the real fact that the only way anyone is going to change their overall state of wellness is by changing the foods they eat and the things they do (it was the way they were eating and the things they were doing before that got them here now, I would think they would recognize that change is a have-to-do at this point).  Doctors can not control what the patient eats or what activities they participate in, they can only continue to tell the patient if they are looking for health improvements they can experience that simply with
weightloss and an increase in activity and hope for the best.  I am thrilled to say that I've been a non-smoker for 11 years after more than 20 years of smoking and have recently changed my eating habits, thus resulting is a 55+ pound weight loss so far.  Yes, I doing something for it, but I like what I get so I am not only HAPPY TO DO IT,but I am grateful for the opportunity because, wow, it sure feels great when I do.  
Man, You should try it!
 

I would like to suggest that you consider your body to be simply the vessel in which you are now residing.  You are not your mind, you're able to consciously choose your thoughts.  You are not your body, if you lose a limb you will not lose your life.  You can feed and shape your body according to your knowledge and desires.  Your body will only do what you teach it to do and will respond in kind to how you take care of it.  This 'taking care of' means creating the best possible conditions for your body and mind both inside and out.  Consider just for a minute that YOU/I are actually seperate of our physical form.  Who is it that tells you what you want and like?  Hmmm, Yes you do decide everything in your world, but YOUR world only.
How are you doing at taking care of your body?  Do you know what it actually needs and how it works and what 
kind of nutrients are required for the growth, maintenance or repair of it? There is never a better time than now to check and see how all the systems are operating.  Do yourself a favor and make a conscious effort to review
how things are going.  Are you happy with the relationships you share  with your family, friends, co-workers, and even that part of you that knows everything?  Are you satisfied with the income you're creating, do you get to help others in ways that are important to you?  How about Sleeping, are you resting comfortably when you sleep at night and do you awake feeling re-energized?  Do you allow yourself sufficient playtime to enjoy and appreciate the life you get to live?  Do you like the person you see in the mirror every night before you go to bed and every morning when you wake up, is what you see equal to the kind of body and person you feel is the best
you can be?  There are so many ways that we are able to improve ourselves without any inconvenience to ourselves or others.  Once you recognize and review the status of your conditions, you will have the information to know where and what you would like to do next.  You will want to make notes for yourself so as not to overlook an opportunity to either directly or inadvertantly cause good to happen for yourself or others.  When we are focused on things that promote growth with new knowledge and information, we tend to be learning all the time.  With new knowledge and experience comes more life.
Cheers to everyone being able to learn and do!