ATLANTA (AP) — Next time you go for a checkup, don't be surprised if your doctor gets on your case about your weight.


The medical profession has issued new guidelines for fighting the nation's obesity epidemic, and they urge physicians to be a lot more aggressive about helping patients drop those extra pounds.


Doctors should calculate your body mass index, a weight-to-height ratio. And if you need to lose weight, they should come up with a plan and send you for counseling.


The guidelines were released this week by a group of medical organizations that include the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology and the Obesity Society.


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Online:


Guidelines: http://www.obesity.org



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  • No. 10: Arkansas


    Projected: 60.6 percent
    2011: 30.9 percent

    (Image via AP)




  • No. 9: Missouri


    Projected: 61.9 percent
    2011: 30.3 percent

    (Image via AP)




  • No. 7: Louisiana


    Projected: 62. 1 percent
    2011: 33.4 percent

    (Image via AP)




  • No. 7: Kansas


    Projected: 62.1 percent
    2011: 29.6 percent

    (<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/earlycj5/2091863165/" target="_hplink">Image via Flickr</a>)




  • No. 6: Alabama


    Projected: 62.6 percent
    2011: 32 percent

    (Image via AP)




  • No. 5: South Carolina


    Projected: 62.9 percent
    2011: 30.8 percent

    (Image via AP)




  • No. 4: Tennessee


    Projected: 63.4 percent
    2011: 29.2 percent

    (<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fkehren/2442538274/" target="_hplink">Image via Flickr</a>)




  • No. 3: Delaware


    Projected: 64.7 percent
    2011: 28.8 percent

    (<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/auvet/1606094344/" target="_hplink">Image via Flickr</a>)




  • No. 2: Oklahoma


    Projected: 66.4 percent
    2011: 31.1 percent

    (Image via AP)




  • No. 1: Mississippi


    Projected: 66.7 percent
    2011: 34.9

    (Image via AP)