Americans are becoming more obese and more are developing more health-related problems, according to a study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

More than 44 million Americans were obese and 16.7 million people had diagnosed diabetes in 2001, according to the study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

From 2000 to 2001, the number of Americans with obesity rose by 1.1 percent while the number with diabetes rose by .6 percent.

The study confirmed findings that Mississippi is the state with the highest obesity rate and Colorado has the lowest. The highest rate of diagnosed diabetes was in Alabama; the lowest was in Minnesota.

"Overweight and obesity were significantly associated with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, asthma, arthritis, and poor health status," the researchers reported.

Extremely obese people had a significantly higher risk of related health conditions, according to the researchers. People with a body mass index (BMI) of at least 40 were more than 7 times as likely to be diagnosed with diabetes, more than 6 times more likely to have high blood pressure and 4 times as likely to have arthritis.

"Increases in obesity and diabetes among U.S. adults continue in both sexes, all ages, all races, all educational levels, and all smoking levels," the researchers concluded.

Other sources: Journal of the American Medical Association