More than 25 percent of Mississippi population classified as obese.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

Byline: Kat Bergeron

BILOXI, Miss. _ Mississippians have a big, fat reason to be making weight-loss resolutions for the New Year. In new data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mississippi is on the top rung for obesity.

For the first time in U.S. history, there is a state that has at least 25 percent of its population classified as obese. Mississippi's figure is 25.9 percent, compared to Colorado, which at 14.4 percent is the lowest. West Virginia is on the second rung at 24.6 percent and Kentucky is a close third.

Americans overall eat too much. The food is cheap and the serving sizes are bigger.

Mississippi has had the dubious distinction of …