The association between personality traits and body mass index varies with nativity among individuals of Mexican origin

Sutin, Angelina R.; Rogers, Darrin L.; Mercado, Alfonso; Weimer, Amy A.; Colunga-Rodríguez, Cecilia; González, Mònica; Robins, Richard W.; Schwartz, Seth J.; Terracciano, Antonio

doi:10.1016/j.appet.2015.02.036

Cited by 18 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Other aspects of psychological functioning that are related to Neuroticism, such as depressive symptoms, also tend to be related to higher BMI (Luppino et al, 2010). Extraversion is associated positively with BMI in some samples (Armon et al, 2013; Magee & Heaven, 2011), negatively in others (Sutin et al, in press), and unrelated in yet others (Mõttus et al, 2013; Terracciano et al, 2009). Finally, Openness and Agreeableness either have a negative relation (Magee & Heaven, 2011) or no relation (Armon et al, 2013) with BMI.…”

Section: Overview Of Personality and Adipositymentioning

confidence: 92%

Personality traits and body mass index: Modifiers and mechanisms

Sutin

Terracciano

2015

Psychology & Health

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108

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Objective To identify how demographic factors (sex, age, ethnicity) modify the association between personality traits and body mass index (BMI) and to test the extent that diet and physical activity account for the personality-BMI relations. Design Cross-sectional study with a diverse sample (N=5,150, 50% female, 19% African American, 15% Hispanic). Participants completed a measure of the five major dimensions of personality and reported on their physical activity, diet and food intake behavior, and height and weight. Main Outcome Measures BMI and obesity (BMI≥30) Results High Neuroticism was associated with higher BMI and risk for obesity, whereas Conscientiousness and, to a lesser extent, Extraversion and Openness were protective. These associations were generally stronger among women and older participants; there was less evidence for ethnicity as a moderator. Personality had similar relations with the behavioral factors, and physical activity, diet, and regular meal rhythms accounted for approximately 50% of the association between Neuroticism and Conscientiousness and BMI. Conclusion This study supports the links between personality traits and BMI and suggests that physical activity, more than diet, is a key factor in these associations.

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Section: Overview Of Personality and Adipositymentioning

confidence: 92%

Personality traits and body mass index: Modifiers and mechanisms

Sutin

Terracciano

2015

Psychology & Health

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108

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“…This search was then refined by further topics: “personality” and “facet” or “NEO PI” or “ipip‐neo” or “national character survey.” The resulting 49 titles and abstracts were scanned for detailed personality facet–obesity associations across all 30 facets. We found six candidate studies, with four using full the NEO PI‐R/3, one using a Korean shortened NEO PI‐R, and one using the IPIP‐NEO questionnaire . As this paper pool was dominated by the full NEO PI‐R/3, we based the main meta‐analysis only on this instrument for consistency.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Personality‐obesity associations are driven by narrow traits: A meta‐analysis

et al. 2019

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Summary Obesity has inconsistent associations with broad personality domains, possibly because the links pertain to only some facets of these domains. Collating published and unpublished studies (N = 14 848), we meta‐analysed the associations between body mass index (BMI) and Five‐Factor Model personality domains as well as 30 Five‐Factor Model personality facets. At the domain level, BMI had a positive association with Neuroticism and a negative association with Conscientiousness domains. At the facet level, we found associations between BMI and 15 facets from all five personality domains, with only some Neuroticism and Conscientiousness facets among them. Certain personality‐BMI associations were moderated by sample properties, such as proportions of women or participants with obesity; these moderation effects were replicated in the individual‐level analysis. Finally, facet‐based personality “risk” scores accounted for 2.3% of variance in BMI in a separate sample of individuals (N = 3569), 409% more than domain‐based scores. Taken together, personality‐BMI associations are facet specific, and delineating them may help to explain obesity‐related behaviours and inform intervention designs. Preprint and data are available at https://psyarxiv.com/z35vn/.

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“…As a starting point, we examined how personality is associated with BMI in a sample of participants who were all of Mexican origin (Sutin et al, 2015). This sample included participants born in Mexico and living in Mexico, participants born in Mexico and living in the United States (1 st generation immigrants), participants born and living in the United States to parents born in Mexico (2 nd generation immigrants), and participants born and living in the United States to parents of Mexican origin but who were also born in the United States (3 rd generation immigrants).…”

Section: Personality and Body Mass Indexmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The few studies with samples from Eastern countries that include a measure of Conscientiousness surprisingly find no association between this trait and BMI. In samples from South Korea (Shim et al, 2014) and China and Japan (Sutin et al, 2015), Conscientiousness is unrelated to body weight. Given the overwhelming evidence for the protective role of Conscientiousness in Western samples, this unusual finding should be interpreted with caution until more samples are available to test for this association.…”

Section: Personality and Body Mass Indexmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Personality and Body Weight

Sutin

Terracciano

2017

The Japanese Journal of Personality

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Models of personality and health have grown in complexity as more is discovered about how traits are related to health-related behaviors, morbidity, and mortality. The present article applies a model of personality and health that incorporates longitudinal relations, behavioral and physiological mechanisms, and context to the relation between Five-Factor Model personality traits and body mass index (BMI) and obesity (BMI≥30). Conscientiousness is associated consistently with lower body weight; the relation between the other traits and BMI is more complex. Conscientiousness is also associated with risk of obesity over time, and specific aspects of Conscientiousness and Neuroticism are associated with greater weight gain and are also sensitive to changes in weight over time. Behavioral (e.g., physical activity) and physiological (e.g., inflammation) factors explain part of the association between personality and BMI. Finally, the broader social environment shapes the expression of personality in relation to body weight. This review highlights replicable associations between personality and BMI and potential mechanisms of this association. Future research needs to better address how specific aspects of the social and family environment moderate the relation between personality and BMI and take a lifespan perspective to better incorporate how traits contribute to weight starting in childhood.

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The association between personality traits and body mass index varies with nativity among individuals of Mexican origin

Cited by 18 publications

References 44 publications

Personality traits and body mass index: Modifiers and mechanisms

Personality traits and body mass index: Modifiers and mechanisms

Personality‐obesity associations are driven by narrow traits: A meta‐analysis

Personality and Body Weight

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