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US Energy Use per Capita vs US Adult Obesity

US Energy Use per Capita and US Adult Obesity correlate at r = -0.50 over 45 years (1980–2024), p = 5.4e-4. With the time trend removed, r = +0.57. Direction flips without the trend.

Verdict: Direction flips without the trend. The raw correlation is -0.50, but once each series' time trend is removed it becomes 0.57. The year-to-year movements run the opposite way to the long-run trends, so the headline number is misleading.

Pearson r
-0.50
p-value
5.4e-4
Years compared (n)
45 (1980–2024)
95% confidence interval
-0.69 to -0.24
Correlation with the time trend removed
+0.57

Sources

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Correlation does not imply causation. How the verdict is worked out.