Get to know your country this 4th of July

As you celebrate the 4th of July this weekend, you may ask yourself, ”How are we doing, as a country? How healthy are we?” While this may not seem as simple as catching up with friends and family over Independence Day weekend, statehealthfacts.org actually makes it pretty easy.

Statehealthfacts.org,  a project of the Kaiser Family Foundation, has compiled a lot of useful health information into an easy-to-navigate website. In three clicks, I found the child obesity rate from state to state, and can see how Illinois compares against the rest of the country. (With more than one in five Illinois children obese, our state ranks second in the country, along with Tennessee, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Georgia.)

So take a few moments from celebrating America’s birthday to catch up with your nation and see how it’s doing.