WASHINGTON D.C. - Americans may be cutting back on spending but they are not cutting down their waist lines. A new study shows that 2 out of 3 Americans are weighing in at overweight levels.

Iowa has the 22nd highest rate of adult obesity in the nation, at 26.7 percent and the 8th lowest of overweight youths (ages 10-17) at 26.5 percent, according to a new report by Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF).

A report card grading obesity gave the country an "F". Nearly a third of adults in Mississippi are obese, making it the fattest state. On the opposite end of the scale is Colorado. But even in the slimmest state, nearly 20% of adults are obese.

This health crisis can weigh down the whole country because overweight people require more expensive health care, as the President noted at a health care town hall meeting.

"If we can help somebody control obesity, they are less likely to get diabetes. And if they are less likely to get diabetes, that means that we are going to be saving a whole lot of money in hospital costs," said President Obama.

This crisis begins early. Childhood obesity rates have tripled since 1980. Mississippi, again, is on top where 44 percent of 10 to 17-year-olds are obese or overweight. The report's authors say the government needs to aggressively weigh in, regulating food advertising.

"The marketing occurs with sports figures marketing unhealthy foods with cartoon characters being used to market unhealthy foods and this just has to stop if we are going to have any hope of dealing with the obesity problem," said Kelly Thornell, Yale.

Other recommendations include the government promoting active lifestyles in unconventional ways.

"Sometimes it can mean keeping the school playground open at night. Sometimes it means providing the seed money to open a grocery store in a neighborhood," said Jeff Levi, Trust for America's Health.

There's a silver lining to the alarming obesity numbers. Combined with the health care reform debate, health experts are more optimistic than ever that their calls for change will be answered.

Read the full report here.