CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- It was an ambitious goal: at the turn of the century, more than 300 people from across West Virginia devised a plan that by 2010 would see West Virginians slimmer, more active and regularly visiting their doctors to guard against a range of illnesses.

In the years since, a parade of national studies and research reports has left a widespread belief that West Virginians' health is in decline, as measures from obesity to Type 2 diabetes continue to rank the state among the nation's worst affected.

But a look at the West Virginia Healthy People 2010 plan shows a gradual progress in many areas that add up to some good news, if some of the plan's goals still seem unlikely to be met in the next year and a half.

Fat, for example, is probably the most noticeable and expensive problem in the state. About 30 percent of West Virginians are obese and 37 percent are overweight, according to the latest figures from the state Bureau for Public Health.

It's visible on the street as well as in national reports: the Trust for America's Health found in August that West Virginia is the second-fattest state in the country, behind Mississippi.

And that problem spins a web of other health woes, each one costly in lives and dollars: diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, along with their attendant risks. All told, obesity and excess weight cost the state health plans around $200 million a year.

When the 2010 goals were set, though, things were actually worse: the working group decided that an obesity rate of 37 percent was a realistic goal to achieve by 2010. Today, it's just over 30 percent.

"I promise you we're in better condition than we were 10 years ago,'' said Kevin Pauley, spokesman for the state chapter of the American Heart Association.

The heart association, which is kicking off a series of "heart walks'' around the state this fall, has other reasons to be glad.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- It was an ambitious goal: at the turn of the century, more than 300 people from across West Virginia devised a plan that by 2010 would see West Virginians slimmer, more active and regularly visiting their doctors to guard against a range of illnesses.

In the years since, a parade of national studies and research reports has left a widespread belief that West Virginians' health is in decline, as measures from obesity to Type 2 diabetes continue to rank the state among the nation's worst affected.

But a look at the West Virginia Healthy People 2010 plan shows a gradual progress in many areas that add up to some good news, if some of the plan's goals still seem unlikely to be met in the next year and a half.

Fat, for example, is probably the most noticeable and expensive problem in the state. About 30 percent of West Virginians are obese and 37 percent are overweight, according to the latest figures from the state Bureau for Public Health.

It's visible on the street as well as in national reports: the Trust for America's Health found in August that West Virginia is the second-fattest state in the country, behind Mississippi.

And that problem spins a web of other health woes, each one costly in lives and dollars: diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, along with their attendant risks. All told, obesity and excess weight cost the state health plans around $200 million a year.

When the 2010 goals were set, though, things were actually worse: the working group decided that an obesity rate of 37 percent was a realistic goal to achieve by 2010. Today, it's just over 30 percent.

"I promise you we're in better condition than we were 10 years ago,'' said Kevin Pauley, spokesman for the state chapter of the American Heart Association.

The heart association, which is kicking off a series of "heart walks'' around the state this fall, has other reasons to be glad.

The working group also saw 37 percent as the magic number for physical activity. They wanted to get the number of residents who report no leisure time exercise down to that number by 2010; it now stands at 28.5 percent.

The West Virginia Healthy People 2010 objectives also called for increasing to 75 percent the number of residents who have had their blood cholesterol checked; it's now almost 77 percent.

"It's an encouraging thing,'' Pauley said. "This is the right time for people to think about it. People are tired of seeing the stereotypes about our state.''

Pauley knows that the state still has far to go: the most recent state figures show that roughly a third of all deaths in the state stem from cardiovascular disease or stroke.

And the West Virginia Healthy People 2010 goals are far from being met in a wide range of other categories, including cigarette smoking, colorectal cancer screening and hypertension rates.

One of the most significant goals may be the lack of access to health care. The plan envisioned that by 2010, all but 10 percent of West Virginians -- 180,000 people -- would have health insurance. The U.S. Census bureau estimated in August that number stands at 254,000, an increase of 9,000 over the previous year.

Perry Bryant, executive director of West Virginians for Affordable Health Care, hopes a plan being worked on by lawmakers and other experts to redesign the state's health care system may help narrow that gap.

Once people have insurance and make a habit of seeing a doctor, he said, many chronic conditions like obesity can be successfully reduced.