US Adult Obesity vs US Population Aged 65+

US Adult Obesity and US Population Aged 65+ correlate at r = +0.78 over 45 years (1980–2024), p < 0.0001. With the time trend removed, r = -0.99. Direction flips without the trend.

Verdict: Direction flips without the trend. The raw correlation is 0.78, but once each series' time trend is removed it becomes -0.99. The year-to-year movements run the opposite way to the long-run trends, so the headline number is misleading.

Pearson r: +0.78
p-value: < 0.0001
Years compared (n): 45 (1980–2024)
95% confidence interval: 0.62 to 0.87
Correlation with the time trend removed: -0.99

Sources

US Adult Obesity (% of adults): Our World in Data. US Adult Obesity (Our World in Data: Obesity among adults, BMI >= 30 kg/m2 (crude estimate) (%) - Sex: both sexes - Age group: 18+ years of age).
US Population Aged 65+ (% of total): World Bank. US Population Aged 65+ (World Bank indicator SP.POP.65UP.TO.ZS).

Related pairs

US Adult Obesity vs US Population (r = +1.00)
US Median Age vs US Adult Obesity (r = +0.99)
US Wind Power Generation vs US Population Aged 65+ (r = +0.99)
US Marriage Rate vs US Adult Obesity (r = -0.98)
US Adult Obesity vs US Resident Patent Applications (r = +0.98)
US Adult Obesity vs US Mobile Subscriptions (r = +0.98)

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