One of the most common resolutions made at the start of every new year is to lose some weight.

In fact, according to a study released by Gallup during the last week in December, 40 percent of Americans said they were overweight and 55 percent said they wanted to lose weight.

Only 27 percent of Americans, according to the research done in collaboration with the nonprofit West Health, say that they are seriously trying to lose weight.

Those statistics are telling, especially when you consider the survey “States with the Healthiest Diets” released last week by Trace One. Overall numbers for the United States are not great, but a look at our region shows there’s even more work to do.

Numbers compiled by the New York-based company that specializes in software for the food and beverage industry show that West Virginia ranks 45th in the nation in the analysis of healthiest diets. Ohio comes in at 38th and Pennsylvania stands at 22nd.

There were several metrics used to come up with those totals. Among those was daily fruit consumption.

The survey shows 60.7 percent of Pennsylvanians, 57 percent of Ohioans and 54 percent of West Virginians eat fruit on a daily basis. That compares with a national average of 59.2 percent.

The figures are higher when it comes to daily vegetable consumption — the national average is 80.3 percent, and our region is right in line, with West Virginia at 81.1 percent, Pennsylvania at 80.6 percent and Ohio at 80.4 percent. It’s the same when it comes to drinking — 93.9 percent of Americans drink alcohol moderately or don’t drink — in West Virginia it’s 94.8 percent, in Ohio it’s 93.7 percent and in Pennsylvania it’s 93.4 percent.

Americans in general like to consume sugar-sweetened beverages daily– 63 percent — while in our region, those numbers are 65.9 percent in Pennsylvania, 59.4 percent in West Virginia and 57.2 percent in Ohio.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, the survey shows, says food insecurity is an issue in 12.2 percent of American households. In West Virginia, that number is 13.7 percent, while in Ohio it is 12.8 percent and in Pennsylvania it is 10.8 percent.

Looking at the prevalence of being overweight or obese, the national number is 68.7 percent. Pennsylvania is just below that at 67.7 percent, Ohio is just above at 69.6 percent and West Virginia is higher at 73.2 percent. When it comes to the prevalence of diabetes, the national number is 11.5 percent, which is exactly where Pennsylvania falls. Ohio stands at 13.2 percent while West Virginia is at 18.2 percent.

The prevalence of high cholesterol in the United States is 36.9 percent — in Pennsylvania, the number is 34.8 percent, in Ohio it’s 37.4 percent and in West Virginia its 45 percent. High blood pressure? Pennsylvania (33.7 percent) is below the national average of 34 percent, while Ohio (37.4 percent) and West Virginia (45.1 percent) are above.

All three states in our region are above the national average of 6.3 percent in the category of prevalence of heart disease or heat attack — Ohio and Pennsylvania both stand at 7.4 percent, while West Virginia comes in at 11 percent.

All of those numbers help to create staggering costs, the report indicates, pointing to numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that show obesity results in an annual cost of $173 billion to our nation’s health care system, and diabetes, heart disease and strokes result in an estimated $835 billion in medical costs and lost productivity.

It all shows that better eating habits and regular exercise can help to lower those numbers and make a difference in our lives.

(Gallabrese, a resident of Steubenville, is executive editor of the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times)