Gaining weight could extend your life. You read that correctly. New research suggests racking up some additional pounds in your 50s and beyond may increase your lifespan and reduce the risk of early death. Stop yourself before you head to the pantry because there are a couple of caveats. The first is that the benefits only apply to those who started with normal weight and don’t gain so much that they become obese. Second, participants who were overweight or obese at the beginning of the trial and continued to gain weight had the highest risk of early death. Therefore, if you were at a normal weight in your younger years, a bit of moderate weight gain may help you live longer. If you weren’t, you should focus on weight loss instead of weight gain. But if you were at a normal weight in your 30s and 40s, you might want …