Minnesota is among the five states with an increase in adult obesity at a time when the country's obesity epidemic finally seemed to be leveling off. Minnesota's obesity rate has increased to 27.6%, disappointing state health officials.

The officials have been targeting the problem for a number of years with millions of dollars of investments in walking paths, farmers markets and other strategies for 'making the healthy choice the easy choice'.

However, officials have said they suspect that the increase could be a one-year blip as obesity rates plateaued for most states in the report, released on Monday by the Trust for America's Health. Minnesota's rate was still 15th lowest in the US.

State Health Commissioner Dr. Ed Ehlinger said, "We're looking at the long-term trends. Our rate plateaued starting in 2008 and we've been … at a pretty stable rate since that time".

Minnesota has joined nations, including Utah, Kansas, New Mexico and Ohio. The 2.1 percentage point increase in Minnesota was second largest following Ohio's rose 2.2%.

Almost all the states saw their rates level off, which is significant considering that the national adult obesity rate has more than doubled since 1990. The trend has come as a warning for health officials as obesity is associated with diabetes, stroke and other crippling ailments.

During a news conference, the Trust's Jeff Levi said that they are seeing it as a sign of progress, and that they do know much about what works. He added that they just need to invest in these approaches.