The Effect of Personality Trait on Obesity in the Bamenda Municipality, Cameroon

Abstract

Many researchers have established the link between genes and obesity. Some other researchers, in an attempt to find out why people with the same genetical setup have different body mass indexes, have amongst other factors linked it to differences in socioeconomic status, differences to dieting pattern and physical activities. A new school of thought has come up to establish the fact that differences in personalities also accounts for differences in body mass index. According to Sutin et al. (2011), personality traits contribute to health outcomes. They found a link between personality and body mass index. This study was out to investigate the effect of personality trait on obesity. We administered 1052 personality test randomly to individuals aged 20 and above in the Bamenda Municipality. The model was estimated using the regression; ANOVA and Correlation analysis. From the analysis, it was realized that there exist a positive and statistically significant relationship between personality trait and obesity. Sanguine and choleric personalities were less likely to be obese compared to melancholic and phlegmatic. The study concluded that, introverts are more likely to be obese than extroverts. It was recommended that individuals who have the melancholic and phlegmatic personality (introverts) should be more actively involved in dieting and exercising. Lastly, it was also recommended that the government of Cameroon should institute one compulsory day of the week for workers sports. All workers should have Saturday as a compulsory sporting day as done in Kenya.