Obesity: A Republican problem?

[muon2]

That county map is very interesting, I'm happy to note how rapidly obesity drops off after crossing the Virginia state line.

I see too many suspicious state borders. Virginia / WV, Colorado / Kansas, Texas / Louisiana, Texas / Oklahoma.

I see them too. I have a hard time believing that So IL is so different than its neighboring states or E CO from NE and KS. I suspect that data collection may be skewed by how each state measures obesity and then reports it.

[muon2]

That county map is very interesting, I'm happy to note how rapidly obesity drops off after crossing the Virginia state line.

I see too many suspicious state borders. Virginia / WV, Colorado / Kansas, Texas / Louisiana, Texas / Oklahoma.

I see them too. I have a hard time believing that So IL is so different than its neighboring states or E CO from NE and KS. I suspect that data collection may be skewed by how each state measures obesity and then reports it.

I noticed Virginia and Texas right away, and now that you mention it Illinois sticks out as well.  I saw that it was compiled from CDC estimates so I figured it was probably about as good as any data we could get, but if states are reporting separately it might explain some differences.

Or, maybe that's just the way it is.  Based on my anecdotal observations, I'd expect the rates to be very high in the four-corners region and in the lower Mississippi River valley.  In both those places, the rates are high.  Still, I'd also have expected it to be high in the lower Rio Grande valley, though.  Also, like you, I wouldn't expect the rates to be so different between Briston, TN and Bristol, VA, or between Nacogdoches, TX and Natchitoches, LA, for example.  Maybe there are some differences between state reporting, or collecting, protocols.

I also see on the county-level map that the middle four shades represent very tight ranges. A shift of 3% from 27.5% to 30.5% moves from the second best to second worst category. Slight differences in reporting methodology could easily create that discrepancy.