What Foods Make People Gain Weight?

Having a body mass index under 18 can qualify as underweight for most people. For some people, gaining weight is not as easy as it is for others. Extra calories are the key to gaining weight, but those calories should not consist of unhealthy weight-building foods, such as candy and sugar.

High Carbohydrate Foods

• Foods high in carbohydrates are high in calories and full of energy for your body. Pasta typically is over 200 calories per cup. With nutrient-rich tomato sauce and vegetables, a complete meal with plenty of weight-building and nutrition is achieved. Bread is another source of carbohydrates. One slice of bread has almost 100 calories. A bagel with cream cheese and fruit makes for a healthy treat, and gives energy.

Dried Fruits and Nuts

• Raisins, strawberries, blueberries and apricots are a healthy snack high in nutritional value that helps build weight. Dried fruit are higher in calories because, without the water content, they have less volume, which means more calories per cup of dried fruit. A cup of fresh fruit typically has 25 percent the calories of a cup of fresh fruit.

Nuts and Granola

• Nuts are high in polyunsaturated fats and come with a good amount of calories, which means a good amount of energy and ability to build muscle and body mass. Granola is another source of building body weight, since it consists of cereal, nuts, seeds and dried fruits for a completely nutritious, yet high-calorie breakfast.

Healthy Oils

• Although oils are a quick and easy way to add extra calories to any meal, not all oils are healthy for consuming on a regular basis. The key to finding healthy oil is to find one high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, as well as in omega-3 fatty acids. Extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil and most nut oils are perfect examples of healthy oils to use to help build body weight. Adding these oils to a dish of pasta with plenty of vegetables boosts your body weight and brings a high amount of food energy.