Customers at Joseph Langley’s convenience store in Charles County have been taste-testing low-fat and reduced-sugar versions of their favorite snacks and drinks for a few months.

Langley, owner of Joe’s Grocery and Liquor in Pomfret, said a few have made healthier choices after a taste comparison — but not many. He said he sold a few half-gallons of 1 percent milk, which has less fat than whole milk.

“But the low-fat cheese hasn’t sold at all,” said Langley, who has owned the shop for more than 25 years. “Everybody down here likes their fat.”

However, Maryland officials and health experts say they think the state has a role to play in curbing an obesity rate that has increased more than 80 percent during the past 15 years, according to a recent report from the advocacy group Trust for America’s Health.

The report, released July 7, put the state’s obesity rate at 27.1 percent, making Maryland the 26th most obese state in the nation. People are considered obese if their body mass index, based on a measure of height and weight, is 30 or more.

Somerset County has the state’s highest obesity rate, 36 percent, according to data from the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Montgomery has the lowest rate, 19 percent, and is the only county in which less than 20 percent of the population is obese.

Obesity comes with a price tag. The state reports that from 1998 to 2000, Maryland’s annual obesity-related medical expenditures were an estimated $1.5 billion, $390 million of which was paid by Medicaid, a federal and state program that funds medical care for those who can’t afford it.

Annually, the nation spends more than $150 billion on health care linked to obesity, the Trust for America’s Health report shows. U.S. employers lose about $73 billion annually in lost productivity related to obesity.

Obesity has been linked to an increased risk of chronic diseases, including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke and some cancers.

State officials say the recent report on obesity confirmed their own data — and perhaps will raise awareness about the growing problem.

Langley is one of four store owners in Charles County taking part in the Maryland Healthy Stores program, a partnership between the state of Maryland and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Participating stores host taste-tests and stock their shelves with previously unavailable products, such as low-fat foods and drinks, nuts, berries and other healthier options, said Megan Rowan, a senior research coordinator.

The program began in 2005, and was in place in nine Baltimore city stores for six months.

“Our idea is that if you catch people at the point of purchase, at the point of decision-making, it’s a better time to get them to try something new,” said Joel Gittelson, professor at the Hopkins school’s Center for Human Nutrition.

And overall, he said, early evidence shows making healthy food and drinks available improves the likelihood that people will purchase them — though specific data was unavailable.

This month, the state’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene applied for a $4.1 million community transformation grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Audrey Regan, director of the office of chronic disease prevention.

She said the money will be used to prevent tobacco use and control obesity and hypertension in Maryland.

“By addressing obesity in particular, as well as tobacco, we’re really addressing our leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes,” Regan said.

The grant money would be used to expand existing efforts, including a worksite-wel