Someone made a comment that the heaviest states tend to be the most Republican.
From the Center for Disease Control's page on obesity
| State | Prevalence | Confidence Interval |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 32.0 | (30.5, 33.5) |
| Alaska | 27.4 | (25.3, 29.7) |
| Arizona | 24.7 | (22.7, 26.9) |
| Arkansas | 30.9 | (28.8, 33.1) |
| California | 23.8 | (22.9, 24.7) |
| Colorado | 20.7 | (19.7, 21.8) |
| Connecticut | 24.5 | (23.0, 26.0) |
| Delaware | 28.8 | (26.9, 30.7) |
| District of Columbia | 23.7 | (21.9, 25.7) |
| Florida | 26.6 | (25.4, 27.9) |
| Georgia | 28.0 | (26.6, 29.4) |
| Hawaii | 21.8 | (20.4, 23.4) |
| Idaho | 27.0 | (25.3, 28.9) |
| Illinois | 27.1 | (25.4, 28.9) |
| Indiana | 30.8 | (29.5, 32.3) |
| Iowa | 29.0 | (27.6, 30.3) |
| Kansas | 29.6 | (28.7, 30.4) |
| Kentucky | 30.4 | (28.9, 31.9) |
| Louisiana | 33.4 | (32.0, 34.9) |
| Maine | 27.8 | (26.8, 28.9) |
| Maryland | 28.3 | (26.9, 29.7) |
| Massachusetts | 22.7 | (21.8, 23.7) |
| Michigan | 31.3 | (30.0, 32.6) |
| Minnesota | 25.7 | (24.6, 26.8) |
| Mississippi | 34.9 | (33.5, 36.3) |
| Missouri | 30.3 | (28.6, 32.0) |
| Montana | 24.6 | (23.3, 26.0) |
| Nebraska | 28.4 | (27.6, 29.2) |
| Nevada | 24.5 | (22.5, 26.6) |
| New Hampshire | 26.2 | (24.7, 27.7) |
| New Jersey | 23.7 | (22.7, 24.8) |
| New Mexico | 26.3 | (25.1, 27.6) |
| New York | 24.5 | (23.2, 25.9) |
| North Carolina | 29.1 | (27.7, 30.6) |
| North Dakota | 27.8 | (26.3, 29.4) |
| Ohio | 29.6 | (28.3, 31.0) |
| Oklahoma | 31.1 | (29.7, 32.5) |
| Oregon | 26.7 | (25.2, 28.3) |
| Pennsylvania | 28.6 | (27.3, 29.8) |
| Rhode Island | 25.4 | (23.9, 27.0) |
| South Carolina | 30.8 | (29.6, 32.1) |
| South Dakota | 28.1 | (26.3, 30.1) |
| Tennessee | 29.2 | (26.8, 31.7) |
| Texas | 30.4 | (29.1, 31.8) |
| Utah | 24.4 | (23.4, 25.5) |
| Vermont | 25.4 | (24.1, 26.8) |
| Virginia | 29.2 | (27.5, 30.9) |
| Washington | 26.5 | (25.3, 27.7) |
| West Virginia | 32.4 | (30.9, 34.0) |
| Wisconsin | 27.7 | (25.8, 29.7) |
| Wyoming | 25.0 | (23.5, 26.6) |
Of the 12 heaviest (The states are: Mississippi (34.9), Louisiana (33.4), West Virginia (32.4), Alabama (32.0), Michigan (31.3), Oklahoma (31.1), Arkansas (30.9), Indiana (30.8), South Carolina 30.8), Kentucky (30.4), Texas (30.4), Missouri (30.3) ), only Michigan is likely to go for Obama - the rest are solidly in the Romney camp.
I've stumbled across a few tea party meetings in the past few years. It was striking how many were extremely obese - several were riding small carts. Very strange. One wonders why. Some of the demographics suggest lower than average wages - perhaps the fact that junk foods that are calorie laden tend to be inexpensive factors in.. Perhaps the fact that several are Southern where there is more than a bit of fried cooking comes into play.
On the other hand Utah, one of the most conservative states in the nation, is relatively light as far as current Americans go with "only" 24% obesity.
Perhaps a good Republican strategy is to buy doughnuts and fried chicken. One also wonders how much they identify with Romney and Ryan - who are both in the average weight range.
(thanks for the comment Ryan and the link Jim - er that is his first rather than last name)
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