If you're a guy seeking divorce advice in Pasadena, you might want to hit the gym before you go to your lawyer's office. A new study from Ohio State University found that while women pack on the pounds after they get married, men experience weight gain after they've divorced.

"Clearly, the effect of marital transitions on weight changes differs by gender," lead author Dmitry Tumin, a doctoral student in sociology at Ohio State, said in a university press release.

Tumin's team examined weight gain patterns in the two years following a marriage or divorce in more than 10,000 people in the United States surveyed from 1986 to 2008. Men and women who married or divorced were more likely to have a weight gain in the two years following their marital transition than their never-married counterparts, researchers found.

"Divorces for men and, to some extent, marriages for women promote weight gains that may be large enough to pose a health risk," Tumin concluded.

While the study didn't look into the reasons why weight gain is more likely for men after a divorce and women after a marriage, researchers have possible theories.

"Married women often have a larger role around the house than men do, and they may have less time to exercise and stay fit than similar unmarried women," study co-author and sociology professor Zhenchao Qian theorized in the news release. "On the other hand, studies show that married men get a health benefit from marriage, and they lose that benefit once they get divorced, which may lead to their weight gain."

According to the report, people over the age of 30 were most likely to gain weight after marriage or divorce - and the risk increased as people grew older.

"As you get older, having a sudden change in your life like a marriage or a divorce is a bigger shock than it would have been when you were younger, and that can really impact your weight," Tumin said.