6 Women's Health Myths You Can Stop Believing Right Now

Babies Are the Main Reason a Married Woman Tends to Gain (and Hold Onto) Weight

Researchers who studied women's weight gain over 10 years found that while most women tended to put on pounds over time, it was nearly as likely to be due to being in a relationship as to having a baby. In a study from University of Queensland (which adjusted for several variables), an average woman weighing 140 pounds would gain 20 pounds if she had a baby and a partner, 15 pounds if she had a partner only and only 11 pounds if she had no partner and no baby. Barnes-Svarney says that this may be because women tend to match their eating style to their partner's, consuming more calories than they need, and also because women in a relationship tend to socialize with their partners at bars and restaurants, where it's easy to overindulge.