Yes it can. Bread of all kinds (including wholemeal bread) is a refined processed carbohydrate. As with a lot of things, eating excessive amounts of it will make you fat. However, eating even small amounts of bread can cause problems, including weight gain or obesity, if you are carbohydrate sensitive.
I stopped eating bread completely and lost weight. If you really cannot live without it, aim to have only 1-2 slices of wholemeal bread in a week.
However, you may need to eliminate it totally if you are very sensitive to bread and other refined (processed) carbohydrates.
