PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania is in the center of the pack when it comes to obesity levels.

New state-by-state rankings were released Thursday based on U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data from 2008 to 2010.

Pennsylvania ranks 19th in the percentage of obese adults, with 28.5 percent of the state’s population considered obese.

In 1995, Pennsylvania was tied with Iowa for 13th place in percentage of obese adults. However, a much smaller 16.2 percent of the state’s population was considered obese at that time.

Fifteen percent of children and adolescents (age 10 to 17) in Pennsylvania are considered obese, according to the most recent state-by-state data from 2007 included in the report.

The state ranks 27th in the speed that obesity rates are rising. Since 1995, obesity rates have grown the fastest in Oklahoma, Alabama, and Tennessee.

The Trust for America’s Health writes the annual report with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The public health groups looked for the first time at state-by-state statistics over the last two decades.