Let’s explore these questions further by sifting through the data in a series of feature stories about the health risks facing the demographics today, with interactive charts and graphs.
This fairly recent data set from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, based on 2014 ACS 1-year estimates, includes data on rates of income, obesity, poverty, etc. by state and serves as the basis of our explorations.
The graph suggests that income level and health risk factors (such as obesity and smoking) of the demographic might be positively correlated. For example, states with high poverty rates seem to have higher obesity and smoking rates and conversely, wealthier states or states with higher household income seem to have lower obesity and smoking rates but higher helathcare coverage rates.
A majority of the states seem to have large populations with median ages (between 36-40 years old) with health risks such as smoking and obesity. However the same demographic also seem to be the one lacking high healthcare coverage rates thereby having higher risk.