Policy makers and health professionals are concerned about growing rates of obesity in the United States. In 2012, about one-third of adults were classified as obese (a body mass index above 30),...

Policy makers and health professionals are concerned about growing rates of obesity in the United States. In 2012, about one-third of adults were classified as obese (a body mass index above 30), raising concerns about the risk of diabetes and other diseases associated with obesity. Analysts studying these trends prepared a scatterplot like that shown in Figure 13.⁸
The plot graphs the annual obesity rate versus the number of miles driven per licensed driver six years before.

a. Describe the association between the percentage obese and the number of miles driven per licensed driver. What’s your guess of the correlation?
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b. Does the evident association imply that the decrease in driving mileage during the housing crisis recession implies that obesity rates will fall in six years?
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c. What other plots would be useful to see to understand this association?
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