The majority of Rhode Islanders could stand to shed a few pounds, and Governor Carcieri wants to help.

Yesterday, the governor launched what he’s calling Healthy Weight in 2008, a campaign designed to educate residents about eating properly and encourage them to exercise.

“Our campaign will act as an invaluable health resource to everyone in the state: children, seniors, people with disabilities, adults and families,” Carcieri said in a statement announcing the initiative.

The governor and state Health Department Director David Gifford joined officials from the Thundermist Health Center in Woonsocket yesterday to introduce the campaign.

In Rhode Island, 38 percent of adults are overweight and another 18 percent are considered obese. That means that 56 percent of Rhode Island adults weigh more than they should.

(The state compares favorably with the national average. Sixty-six percent of adults in the United States are either overweight or obese, according to a Centers for Disease Control study in 2003 to 2004.)

Those who are overweight have a higher risk of various illnesses, including high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes, asthma, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, depression and certain cancers, the governor’s office said.

Treating these illnesses is expensive, and taxpayers pick up about half the cost of treatments directly attributed to obesity, according to the governor, citing a report by the National Governors Association. In Rhode Island, the costs for medical expenses covered by Medicaid and Medicare for obesity-related illnesses cost each taxpayer $185, the governor said.

The centerpiece of the governor’s campaign is a new Web site, www.healthyweightin2008.ri.gov, which will contain information on upcoming events, nutrition, improving eating habits, how to increase physical activity and how to take the first achievable steps toward a healthier life, the governor’s office said.

Residents will be able to use the Web site to keep track of their time spent exercising. The site will tally those numbers, and in six months, it will report on how many total minutes that Rhode Islanders exercised.

The events will include a series of public activities being planned in collaboration with the Department of Environmental Management to encourage Rhode Islanders to get outdoors and enjoy the state’s natural recreation treasures, the governor said.

tbarmann@projo.com