BUFFALO, N.Y. - Growing waistlines are a big problem in Western New York and across the state.
According to the New York State Department of Health, nearly 60-percent of the state's population is overweight or obese.
The numbers climb even higher in the Buffalo-Niagara region. In both Niagara and Wyoming counties, the percentage of overweight or obese adults is around 67-percent. Each of the eight counties in Western New York has a rate higher than the state percentage.
Chautauqua County has the highest obesity rate at nearly 30-percent.
One with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more is considered obese, while a BMI of 25 to 30 is considered overweight. BMI is an estimate of body fat based on height and weight.
Local doctors are seeing an increase in the number of obese youth with health problems, everything from diabetes to heart attacks.
There's the strain on the body and on the state economy.
Health care to treat obesity-related illnesses and conditions costs New Yorkers more than $7.5 billion each year.