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The Center for Disease Control announced in one of its most recent studies that an estimated 64 percent of Americans is are overweight or obese. Over the past twenty years obesity trends have skyrocketed. Obesity has also been linked to many medical illnesses like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and strokes. It is no secret that being overweight or obese is unhealthy and that something should be done to prevent it. If we want to fight this harmful trend [,] then we need to attack what is causing it. This paper will explore the increase in fast food consumption, reliance on technology and genetics as possible causes for the increase of obesity in the United States. The medical definition {singular or plural¡ªone definition...is...} of overweight and obesity are defined by individual body mass indexes, or BMI. According to the International Journal of Obesity (1985) [,] body mass index is determined based on an individual's height and weight and serves as an indicator of obesity in adults. Medical findings endorsed by the Surgeon General suggest that one possible explanation for the rising trend of obesity is genetics in conjunction with environmental factors that cause an imbalance between calor