Mirror, mirror, on the wall: Who's the fattest of them all? According to a new report from the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, that honor belongs to the people of Mississippi.

And while Kansans are not even in the top 10 in the obesity rankings, the only state with faster growing waistlines is Ohio. That's not much of an honor.

A full-figured 27.2 percent of all Kansas residents are considered obese in the nonprofit health group's annual survey. That number represents a 1.4 percent increase from last year.

Not that any state in the union is doing very well. Kansas was joined by 22 other states with increases -- and not a single state posted a decrease. The only state that can boast of having less than 20 percent of its adults overweight is our relatively healthy neighbors to the west: Colorado.

Guess which age group is leading the charge to the feeding trough? The eldest of the Baby Boomers. That's right, the fitness-crazed love children of the '60s have the highest obesity rates by far. And the current 55- to 64-year-olds not only are setting the example for the next two generations at least -- they are about to bust the scales of Medicare funding as they collectively waddle into retirement. Studies have long shown Medicare costs run anywhere from $1,400 to $6,000 more annually for overweight people than those of more modest girth.

What can be done with all the increasingly rubenesque Cinderallas and Cinderfellas?

"There isn't a magic bullet. We don't have a pill for it," said Jeff Levi, executive director of the Trust for America's Health.

While Levi and others are pushing for health reform legislation to include community-level programs such as building sidewalks so people can walk their neighborhoods instead of drive, and providing healthier school lunches, we don't believe the onus is on government to solve the growing problem.

It is up to us. If we don't get off our couches more often, if we continue to choose less-than-healthy diets, no legislation under the sun will allow us to wear smaller belts.

What's the matter with Kansas? Simply put: We're too fat. And getting bigger every day.

Editorial by Patrick Lowry

plowry@dailynews.net