COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — More than a quarter of Ohio adults are obese, and nearly as many say they never exercise, according to figures released Monday by a group tracking America's climbing obesity rates.

Obesity rates are on the rise in 31 states, including Ohio, according to a report from the Trust for America's Health, a research group that focuses on disease prevention. No state showed a decline.

Ohio ranks 15th in the nation based on percentage of obese adults, according to the report, and its percent of obese adults edged up to 26 percent in the 2007 report from 24.5 percent in the group's 2005 report.

Mississippi is the heaviest state, with more than 30 percent of all adult residents considered obese, and West Virginia and Alabama lag just slightly behind. Colorado is the leanest state, with only about 17 percent of adults listed as obese.

This year's report, for the first time, looked at rates of overweight children ages 10 to 17. Ohio ranked 22nd, with 14.2 percent of the state's youth overweight.

The District of Columbia had the highest percentage — 22.8 percent — of overweight children. Utah had the lowest percentage of overweight youth — 8.5 percent.

Federal and local governments should play a larger role in preventing obesity, said officials at the Trust for America's Health. People who are overweight are at an increased risk for diabetes, heart problems and other chronic diseases that contribute to greater health care costs.

At least 17 states mandate that school lunches, breakfasts and snacks meet higher nutritional standards than the U.S. Department of Agriculture requires. Ohio is not one of them. Nor is it one of the 22 states that have set nutritional requirements for food sold in vending machines and bake sales at schools.

The group says a lack of exercise is a large factor in obesity rates. Almost 25 percent of Ohio adults say they never exercise, slightly more than the national average of 22 percent. Minnesota leads the way when it comes to exercise: only about 15 percent of residents there do not engage in physical activity.

To measure obesity rates, Trust for America's Health used data collected from 2003 to 2006 during state health departments' telephone surveys of height and weight.