Associations of Personality with Body Mass Index and Obesity in a Large Late Midlife Community Sample

Abstract

Objective: The study examined cross-sectional associations of personality with BMI and obesity among men and women in a large late midlife community sample. Methods: The sample comprised 5,286 Danish individuals aged 49-63 years from the Copenhagen Ageing and Midlife Biobank (CAMB) with complete information on measured BMI, personality assessed by the NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO FFI), and sociodemographic factors including sex, age and educational length. Analysis of variance and logistic regression models were used to investigate associations between personality and BMI as well as obesity. Personality traits were analyzed separately and combined in the same model. Results: All personality traits except for neuroticism were significantly associated with BMI, with extraversion (p value ranged from <0.001 to 0.012) and agreeableness (p value ranged from 0.001 to 0.002) being the most consistent predictors of BMI among men and women, respectively. Furthermore, extraversion among men (high scores) (p = 0.016) and agreeableness among women (low scores) (p = 0.026) were the only personality traits significantly associated with obesity when adjusting for duration of education. Conclusion: Personality was significantly associated with BMI and to a lesser extent with obesity, and these associations differed between men and women. Also, it was suggested that the interrelations of the five personality traits should be considered in future research of personality and health outcomes.

Personal values in adolescence and their associations with metabolic biomarkers in adulthood: a Japanese population-based study

“…Some personality traits such as higher neuroticism and lower conscientiousness reportedly have been associated with greater risk of metabolic dysfunction from early life [ 9 ]. High extraversion among men and low agreeableness among women are known to be related to obesity [ 37 ]. The Big Five Personality traits consistently affect health-impairing behaviors and psychopathology [ 38 , 39 ].…”

<p>Relation of personality factors and life events to waist/height ratio and percentage of visceral fat in women and men</p>

“…It means that men with higher Reward dependence are more prone to be overweight. The “sensitivity to reward”, was found as a risk factor in relative to control of weight 39,82,83. Reward dependence is considered as an inclination to react remarkably to the signals of reward, predominantly to verbal keys of social agreement, social care, and sentiment 84.…”

“…Whereas “sensitivity to reward”, “impulsivity”, and “neuroticism”, look like as hazard features, “self-control” and “conscientiousness” have been having a protecting function concerning good weight control 38. Extraversion among males (high scores) and agreeableness among females (low scores) were the personality traits significantly related to the obesity when adjusting for duration of education in sizeable Danish midlife community sample 39…”

Personal values in adolescence and their associations with metabolic biomarkers in adulthood: a population-based study in Japan

“…Some personality traits such as higher neuroticism and lower conscientiousness reportedly have been associated with greater risk of metabolic dysfunction from early life (9). High extraversion among men and low agreeableness among women are known to be related to obesity (37). Big ve personality consistently affects health-impairing behaviors and psychopathology (38,39).…”