There are various reasons for you piling on weight. Diet, lifestyle, mental issues and physical disorders. Researchers have added one more dimension to the reasons for weight gain in men and women.

Researchers at University of Cambridge, USA, studied the impact of becoming a parent on weight gain, diet and physical activity.

A meta-analysis of six studies found the difference in change in Body Mass Index (BMI) between remaining without children and becoming a parent was 17%. A woman of average height i. e. 164 cms., who had no children gained around 7.5 kgs. over five to six years. While the mother of the same height gained an additional 1.3 kg.

This equate to increases in BMI of 2.8 versus 3.3. According to the researchers, most studies including physical activity showed greater decline in parents versus non-parents. The research team found limited evidence for diet, which did not seem to differ between parents and non-parents.