A new study suggests that  the little brain signals that tell us when to stop eating and when to burn calories vary in strength and speed between individuals and are established before birth, according to Yale University.

“It appears that this base wiring of the brain is a determinant of one’s vulnerability to develop obesity,” said (researcher Tamas) Horvath, who is also co-director of the Yale Program in Integrative Cell Signaling and Neurobiology of Metabolism. “These observations add to the argument that it is less about personal will that makes a difference in becoming obese, and, it is more related to the connections that emerge in our brain during development.”

Horvath points to other unwanted consequences of these brain mechanisms. “Those who are vulnerable to diet-induced obesity also develop a brain inflammation, while those who are resistant, do not,” he said. “This emerging inflammatory response in the brain may also explain why those who once developed obesity have a harder time losing weight.”

All that may be true, but it doesn’t explain why the obesity rate is so much higher than it used to be or why obesity rates are so much higher in this country than in others. Are we all eating high-fat diets and the vulnerable ones getting caught up in obesity? Or are people vulnerable to obesity more likely to eat high-fat diets? Or have the connections in our brains changed dramatically in just a few years?

It seems likely that no matter what the brain studies find, the best way to avoid obesity still is to avoid a high-fat diet. Hey, look! No research funding involved with that observation!

Man, could go for some sweet ‘tato fries for breakfast.