Overweight and obese children significantly affect the United States today, becoming an even more pronounced problem. The number of overweight teenagers and younger children has soared in recent years and has more than tripled since the 1970s. Developing overweight habits when young inhibits an individual's chances of a healthy lifestyle later in life. To prevent the obesity epidemic in our country, it is necessary to explore and eliminate the main causes and profound problems of obesity. Obviously, both overeating and lack of physical activity contribute greatly to obesity. The most unaware in the eyes of the public is the enormous availability of cheap food and how this affects social classes. Childhood obesity, a problem that is slowly eating away at the United States, becomes more pronounced every day due to overeating, little to no exercise, product availability, and easy access. For starters, children today consume food in outrageous quantities, creating one of the biggest and most obvious reasons for obesity: overeating. Although children need extra calories to grow, they continually take in many more than they burn, creating unnecessary weight gain. (Mark, 1). Calorie consumption has increased dramatically among children in recent years. The greatest increase in daily calorie intake was found in children aged 2 to 6 years, with an average of 181 calories per day and, in extreme cases, up to 586 calories. 121 come from snacking alone with snacks high in calories and lacking in energy. (Bishop, 2). Meredith Brand says, "Snacking is another major culprit [of weight gain], and kids are snacking more than ever... accounting for up to 27% of daily calorie intake." Additionally, as meal portions become larger, children become more accustomed to eating...... middle of paper ......ar 2014. http://www.parenting.com/health -guide/childhood-obesity/ causes.Price, Deon. “Is technology responsible for childhood obesity?” Daily Republic. (2011):1-2. Press. http://www.dailyrepublic.com/opinion/localopopinioncolumnist/is-technology-to-blame-for-childhood-obesity.Roizman, Tracy. “Reasons Why Eating Junk Food Is Not Good.” Healthy eating: media demand. (2014):1-2. Press. http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/reasons-eating-junk-food-is-not-good-3364.htmlSnyder, TD. "Obesity and overweight for professionals". Centers for Disease Prevention and Control. CDC, April 17, 2013. Web. April 3, 2014. http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/problem.htmlTitone, James. “Childhood obesity”. New York. (2012): 1-7. Network. http://www.nyu.edu/classeskeeper/EvergreenEnergy/titone.pdf.Zinczenko, David. Eat This, Not That: A Restaurant Survival Guide. 1.1. New York: Roddle Inc., 2010. 3-20. Press.