Regularly consume more calories than you burn, and you'll gain weight. Although food labels use a 2,000-calorie diet as the benchmark for average calorie consumption, that amount of calories could prompt weight gain in some sedentary people of small stature.

Women usually have a higher body fat percentage than men, and most of their fat accumulates in the hip and thigh area, says University of New Mexico exercise physiology instructor Len Kravitz. To add insult to injury, thigh fat is less receptive to aerobic exercise than belly fat, reports Clarence Bass, author of the "

You'll gain weight when you eat more calories than you burn, regardless of how healthy those calories are. However, excess calories in certain foods can encourage the development of belly fat, also known as visceral fat, that inflates your waistband and increases your risk of chronic disease.

As soon as you start lifting weights with the goal of building muscle, you're on track to becoming a bodybuilder. But it will take some time before your gains are noticeable. You can expect large gains as a novice but eventually your muscle growth will begin to slow.

Plastic surgeons can let out a sigh of relief -- it's not possible to gain weight just in your breasts. The only way to physically change their shape is through augmentation surgery. You gain weight proportionally all over your body according to your body shape, not just in one area.

Endometriosis affects more than five million American women, according to the National Women’s Health Information Center (NWHIC). This reproductive disorder occurs when tissue that normally grows in the uterus (the endometrium) grows in other parts of the abdomen.

Milk may be part of a healthy diet plan to assist in weight loss and improve health. A study by researchers from the University of Tennessee found that overweight people who consumed three servings of dairy products a day lost more belly fat over six months versus those who had less than two servings.

Intrauterine devices, or IUDs, are available in two different types: the copper-containing IUD and a type of hormone-based IUD that contains progesterone. Both types of contraception are designed to prevent the sperm from fertilizing the egg, and both have side effects and benefits. Both also can cause weight gain.

You need vitamin D to help absorb calcium and keep your bones healthy, but it also plays other roles in the body, including promoting immune function, cardiovascular health and limiting inflammation.

Eat too many calories from any food, and you will gain weight. But since cucumbers are extremely low in calories, you'd have to consume several dozen of them to make a significant impact on your size.

As the old saying goes, too much of anything can be a bad thing, and that includes too much exercise. Exercise, particularly resistance or strength training, builds muscle.

Weight gain past the age of 30 is common for both men and women. As you get older you may become busier with work and family responsibilities, which can leave little time for exercise or making healthy meals. Metabolism slows down after age 30, meaning you burn less calories than you did in your 20s.