There is no single reason for hypertension. There will be many reasons that are called as risk factors. Risk factors for hypertension include lack of physical activity, sedentary lifestyle, obesity, family history, smoking and others. And you cannot attribute any sudden change in life style to hypertension. It s a chronic disease and it will develop over a period of time before it becomes apparent. In your case, your body mass index(BMI) is around 34 and by definition more than 30 means obesity (mild). Ideally BMI should be less than 25. Now 170/110 is pretty high blood pressure. You must treat it with medications and the aim is to bring it below 140/100 up to 120/80. Do NOT stop the medications prescribed to you. Please continue the medications with regular BP check up. If it s not going down, we can increase the dose or add another drug for control. Apart from medications, you must also make lifestyle changes. Physical activity has to be increased and aim for BMI below 25 ideally or at least below 30. Follow strict diet and reduce the salt content in food. With lifestyle changes and medications, you can keep your blood pressure under normal range.