Brain Cells May Play a Role in Obesity: This Week on AOL Health

Studies have shown that genetics can play a role in weight issues, but we also know that predispositions to obesity don't have to prevent us from having a healthy, active lifestyle.

Now research shows that our brains also affect how and what we eat. Michael Cowley and his team from Monash University's Obesity and Diabetes Institute in Australia said that when people eat a high-fat diet, nerve cells in the brain can be adversely affected.

According to the study, signals that tell a person to stop eating when he's full and burn fat when he exercises -- two crucial elements to weight loss -- can be cut off.

Visit AOL Health to see what an American Dietetic Association spokeswoman has to say about reading your body's signals correctly.

Make every stride you can to get -- and stay -- healthy. Is a gym membership your next step? That's Fit has the 10 questions you should ask before joining a health club.