Obesity Rates in Britain

This map shows obesity rates in Britain as reported by health care organizations for the years 2006-2007. The map can be found on the BBC website at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7584191.stm.
On this map there are five different colors that each represent an obesity rate. Yellow areas represent the lowest obesity rates. Orange areas represent a medium rate of obesity. Red areas show the highest rate of obesity. Scotland, the northern half of the map, tends to have lower obesity rates than Wales and England. Scotland’s highest obesity levels are on the island to the northwest. England is fairly diverse in its obesity rates. The lowest obesity rates in England are in the south. Wales has the highest obesity rates and most of Wales has high and highest obesity color ratings. This map is interesting because it shows obesity rates, but the map does not explain what a low, medium, and high rate of obesity mean. By looking at the map, the reader does not know what percentage of individuals are obese or how close the obesity rates are compared to one another. On the article that accompanies the map, obesity rate percentages are listed for some cities. Another interesting feature about the map is the north and south ends of mainland Britain overall tend to have a lower rate of obesity. It would be interesting to find out why these areas tend to have lower obesity rates than the middle regions of Britain.