This request comes from Joyce Lee at the University of Michigan.

I published this paper long ago on trends in obesity over people’s lives. The images from that paper can be found in this PPT file (the data is embedded in the charts).

I am trying to show the changes in obesity over time for birth cohorts, but I have been told that these graphs are really hard to understand. I am looking for feedback from others about how to more effectively communicate these trends. In this iteration, I will be creating an interactive version of the graphs, but am first looking for help on improving how the data are graphically displayed.