Many people in the United States believe that if it weren't for fast food, they wouldn't be overweight. People have even sued McDonald's over their weight problem. While fast food may be a contributing factor to the obesity epidemic, it is definitely not an isolated case. There are many other reasons why people living in the United States are overweight. Some of these reasons include problems within the school system, peer pressure, education, and even simply where a person lives. It's clear that fast food restaurants are part of the problem; look around and see that they are everywhere. Just take a short drive down Cypress Avenue in Redding and you'll pass no fewer than eight fast food restaurants and three convenience stores within a two-block radius. If this is the route you take on your way home from work and you don't feel like preparing a homemade meal, what do you think your family will eat that evening? The fast food industry knows this and has positioned itself in high-traffic areas so it can take advantage of tired parents. They're also quick, easy and cheap places to grab a quick bite in the middle of a hectic day full of errands. It is very difficult to stop eating at a McDonald's or Burger King at least a couple of times a month. There are also huge problems within the school system that contribute to obesity rates among children, and once children become overweight, it is extremely difficult for them to regain a healthy weight and good eating habits. Simply overcrowded schools exacerbate the problem because they have to start lunch time two hours after school starts and end lunch time on a rotating basis only a few hours before the end of the day. All these lunches in one day lead to... half the paper... since driving a car doesn't help you lose weight, the more you have to drive, the more you will weigh. Cities have gotten so big that a person's home is nowhere near any kind of shopping mall, so to get anywhere you need to drive. Modern technology goes hand in hand with residential expansion. When a person can order practically everything he needs from the Internet, why drive all over the city? People can have everything from movies to shoes to car parts delivered straight to their door. So while fast food may play a role in the obesity epidemic here in the United States, it's by far not the only one. People must take responsibility for themselves and their bodies and must teach their children good eating habits by setting a good example. We must accept that these reasons exist, and once we are able to do so, they will be less likely to influence us.