Interactive map tracks obesity in the United States

There’s no hiding a bulging waistline. And thanks to a new interactive U.S. map, there’s no concealing the state-by-state status of the obesity epidemic. Moving a cursor across the map at the website stateofobesity.org exposes the track record of each state and lights up line graphs that trace that state’s obesity rates back to 1990. The upward trend is unmistakable. Highlighting that fact is an aim of researchers from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Trust for America’s Health who wrote the report that serves as the source of the website.

While a rise in obesity is evident in all states, the graphics make clear that some regions have more work cut out for them. West Virginia and Mississippi fare the worst, with obesity prevalence now at 35.1 percent; Colorado gets a gold star for coming in at 21.3 percent. Switching to maps from past years reveals that the weightiest states have jostled for the dubious honor of being at or near the top. Clicking on a state reveals more details, such as where it ranks in obesity-related areas such as rates of diabetes and hypertension.