These maps don’t adjust for socioeconomic status, which has a huge correlation with obesity and health in general. West Virginia, Kentucky, and the Black Belt of the South are some of the poorest areas, while Colorado is one of the richest and best-educated.
then I would expect cities to stand out more (relative to altitude) on the obesity maps like they do on the maps you linked.
But I don’t see that (there is a noticeable correlation, but it looks smaller than the altitude one to me), so I think it’s more likely the causality is better approximated with a graph which has an arrow from altitude to obesity than not.
These maps don’t adjust for socioeconomic status, which has a huge correlation with obesity and health in general. West Virginia, Kentucky, and the Black Belt of the South are some of the poorest areas, while Colorado is one of the richest and best-educated.
http://proximityone.com/graphics/mhi_stcty_17b.gif
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/files/2014/04/tumblr_n4jrdrOOC41rasnq9o1_1280.jpg
If the causality was:
obesity ← socioeconomic status → altitude
then I would expect cities to stand out more (relative to altitude) on the obesity maps like they do on the maps you linked.
But I don’t see that (there is a noticeable correlation, but it looks smaller than the altitude one to me), so I think it’s more likely the causality is better approximated with a graph which has an arrow from altitude to obesity than not.