Does personality affect dietary intake?

Exploring the retrospective and prospective associations between the big five personality traits and clinical diagnosis of angina in middle-aged and older adults

OBJECTIVE

The goal of the present research was to test the retrospective and prospective associations between the Big Five personality traits and clinical diagnosis of angina while controlling for demographic characteristics.

METHODS

Data from middle-aged and older adults from a cohort study Understanding Society: the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS) were extracted and analyzed using binary logistic regressions (N = 10,124 for the retrospective study and N = 5485 for the prospective study). Personality was measured using a self-report 15-item version of the Big Five inventory between 2011 and 2012. Angina was measured by a self-report clinical diagnosis history question in each wave from until 2019. Covariates in our models included age, sex, income (monthly), education, and marital status.

RESULTS

Neuroticism was positively related to the likelihood of clinical angina diagnosis in both the retrospective (OR = 1.22, 95% C.I. [1.11, 1.34]) and the prospective (OR = 1.52, 95% C.I. [1.19, 1.94]) study whereas Extraversion had a positive association with odds of angina (OR = 1.52, 95% C.I. [1.17, 1.97]) in the prospective study only. The negative association between Openness and clinical angina diagnosis in the cross-sectional analysis is borderline significant (OR = 0.91, p = 0.048, 95% C.I. [0.83, 1.00]).

CONCLUSION

Our research indicated that personality traits are associated with the risk of angina. These findings emphasize the importance of considering personality traits in understanding the etiology of angina and potentially informing personalized prevention and intervention strategies.

Meta-analysis of personality trait differences between omnivores, vegetarians, and vegans

Vegetarian and vegan diets have been increasing in the Western world. Recent research has focused on personality trait differences between dietary groups, in part because personality traits are broad characteristics that can integrate findings about different factors that motivate vegetarian or vegan diets. Previous research on personality predictors of vegetarian and vegan (veg*n) diet, however, has yielded inconsistent results. The goal of this study was to integrate the existing results of Big Five personality differences between veg*ns and omnivores as well as between vegetarians and vegans. To this end, we meta-analyzed data from 15 studies and N = 69,576 individuals from several countries. Results indicated that veg*ns were significantly higher in Openness (d = 0.40) and Agreeableness (d = 0.17) than omnivores, while vegans were significantly higher in Openness (d = 0.14) than vegetarians. This work isolates Openness and Agreeableness as important trait predictors of plant-based diets and sets the stage for future work on the factors that motivate vegetarian or vegan diet. Personality traits can provide an integrative framework for conceptualizing dietary preferences, be used to make predictions about the sources, course and correlates of dietary choices, and potentially be useful for advocates and policymakers seeking to tailor meat-reduction interventions.

Relationships between personality traits, high school sports participation, and physical activity of college students in the United States

Objective: The study aimed to 1) examine relationships between contexts of PA, personality traits, and high school sports participation (sports) and 2) determine significant PA correlates in a college population. Participants: 237 undergraduates at a university in the United States between September 2020 and May 2021 participated. Methods: Participants completed a survey evaluating PA, personality traits, sports, and demographic variables. Pearson partial correlations assessed correlations between different PA domains, personality traits, and sports. Conscientiousness was positively associated with all PA measures (r = .14-.30), except for active transport PA. Sports were related to vigorous and leisure PA. Conscientiousness is related to PA measures and is a significant PA correlate. However, more research is necessary to understand if leisure time PA can enhance Conscientiousness.

Personality Traits Predict Self-Rated Health (SRH) in Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) Patients and Healthy Controls

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the present study is to examine the association between Big Five personality traits and self-rated health (SRH) among individuals with coronary heart disease (CHD), and to compare this relationship with that of healthy control participants, which is of importance as SRH can be a determinant of outcomes.

METHODS

The current study used data from 566 participants with CHD with a mean age of 63.00 (S.D. = 15.23) years old (61.13% males) and 8608 age- and sex-matched healthy controls with a mean age of 63.87 (S.D.= 9.60) years old (61.93% males) from the UKHLS. The current study used predictive normative modelling approaches, one-sample t tests, a hierarchical regression, and two multiple regressions.

RESULTS

The current study found that CHD patients have significantly lower Conscientiousness (t(565) = -3.84, p < 0.001, 95% C.I. [-0.28, -0.09], Cohen's d = -0.16) and SRH (t(565) = -13.83, p < 0.001, 95% C.I. [-0.68, -0.51], and Cohen's d = -0.58) scores compared to age and sex-matched healthy controls. Moreover, health status (controls vs. CHD patients) moderated the links between Neuroticism, Extraversion and SRH. Specifically, Neuroticism (b = -0.03, p < 0.01, 95% C.I. [-0.04, -0.01]), Openness (b = 0.04, p < 0.001, 95% C.I. [0.02, 0.06]), and Conscientiousness (b = 0.08, p < 0.001, 95% C.I. [0.06, 0.10]) were significant predictors of SRH in healthy controls, whereas Conscientiousness (b = 0.08, p < 0.05, 95% C.I. [0.01, 0.16]) and Extraversion (b = -0.09, p < 0.01, 95% C.I. [-0.15, -0.02]) were significant predictors of SRH in CHD patients.

CONCLUSION

Based on the close associations between personality traits and SRH, and the subsequent impact on patient outcomes, the results of this study should be taken into consideration by clinicians and health professionals when developing tailored treatment and intervention programs for their patients.

Sex-Specific Dietary Patterns and Social Behaviour in Low-Risk Individuals

Dietary and social behaviour are non-medical factors that influence health outcomes. Non-communicable diseases are related to dietary patterns. To date, little is known about how social behaviour is associated with health-related dietary patterns, and, in particular, we lack information about the role of sex within this possible relation. Our cross-sectional study investigated associations between dietary patterns and social behaviour including personality traits (self-control, risk taking), political preferences (conservative, liberal, ecological, social) and altruism (willingness to donate, club membership, time discounting) in men and women. We performed sex-specific correlation analyses to investigate relationships between dietary patterns based on self-reported protocols from the Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS) and the validated Healthy Eating Index (HEI) from the EPIC Study and a self-reported social behaviour questionnaire. In linear regression models, we analysed associations between dietary and social behaviour patterns. Sex differences were measured by interaction analysis for each social behaviour item. The study sample consisted of N = 102 low-risk individuals. The median age of the study participants was 62.4 (25th/75th percentile 53.6, 69.1) years, and 26.5% were women. Analyses showed that a lower HEI score was correlated with a higher BMI in both women and men. MEDAS and HEI showed a positive correlation with each other in men. In men, a higher MEDAS showed a positive correlation when they estimated their ability as high, with the same for self-control and preference for ecological politics and MEDAS. A weak negative correlation has been shown between men with a preference for conservative politics and MEDAS. HEI showed a positive significant correlation with age in men. Male participants without club membership scored significantly higher in the HEI compared to non-members. A negative correlation was shown for time discounting in men. Linear regression models showed positive associations between preferences for ecological-oriented politics and nutrition for both HEI and MEDAS. No sex interactions were observed. We faced a few limitations, such as a small sample size, particularly for women, and a limited age spectrum in a European cohort. However, assuming that individuals with a preference for ecological-oriented politics act ecologically responsibly, our findings indicate that ecological behaviour in low-risk individuals might determine, at least in part, a healthy diet. Furthermore, we observed dietary patterns such as higher alcohol consumption in men or higher intake of butter, margarine and cream in women that indicate that women and men may have different needs for nutritional improvement. Thus, further investigations are needed to better understand how social behaviour affects nutrition, which could help to improve health. Our findings have the potential to inform researchers and practitioners who investigate the nature of the relationship between social behaviour and dietary patterns to implement strategies to create first-stage changes in health behaviour for individuals with a low cardiovascular risk profile.

Understanding the associations between personality traits and the frequency of alcohol intoxication in young males and females: Findings from the United Kingdom

The problem of alcohol intoxication is growing and expanding worldwide, which has numerous adverse health and psychological consequences. Thus, it is unsurprising that there are so many efforts made toward underlying the psychological determinants of alcohol intoxication. While some research found that the belief in drinking is important, other research considers personality traits as a risk factor for alcohol consumption and intoxication, which is backed by empirical evidence. However, previous studies classified individuals as binge drinkers or non-binge drinkers (i.e., binary). Thus, it remains unclear how the Big Five personality traits may relate to the frequency of alcohol intoxication in young people aged between 16 and 21 years old, who are more vulnerable to alcohol intoxication. By using two ordinal logistic regressions on 656 young males with a mean age of 18.50±1.63 years old and 630 female drinkers with a mean age of 18.49±1.55 years old who have ever been intoxicated during the past four weeks from Wave 3 (collected via face-to-face interviews or online surveys between 2011 and 2012) UKHLS (United Kingdom Household Longitudinal Study), the current research found that Extraversion has a positive association with the frequency of alcohol intoxication in both male (OR = 1.35, p < 0.01, 95 % C.I. [1.13, 1.61]) and female (OR = 1.29, p = 0.01, 95 % C.I. [1.06, 1.57]) drinkers whereas only Conscientiousness (OR = 0.75, p < 0.01, 95 % C.I. [0.61, 0.91]) is negatively connected to the frequency of alcohol intoxication in female drinkers.

[Personality characteristics, eating habits and nutritional diagnosis. Study in adolescents with overweight and obesity in Monteros, Argentina]

OBJECTIVE

To identify the relationships between the characteristics of the persona-lity, eating habits and the nutritional diagnosis of school-age adolescents of Monteros, Tucumán, Argentina.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

A quantitative, cross-sectional comparative study was conducted with a non-probabilistic sample of 172 adolescents (average age = 13,57 ± 1,074). Individual measurements of weight and height were taken to calculate the body mass index and divided into two groups: clinical (overweight / obese) and control (normal weight). Moreover, a personality questionnaire was applied to them, and a food consumption frequency questionnaire adapted for the present study.

RESULTS

41.9% of adolescents were overweight, obese and morbidly obese. The frequency of food consumption and eating habits are adequate in both groups, while phy-sical activity and lifestyle was little adequate in the control group and adequate in the clinical group. Significant associations were found between personality traits, eating habits and physical activity-lifestyle, while the relationship between personality and nutritional diagnosis and the frequency of food consumption could not be verified.

CONCLUSION

The results showed an increase in overweight/obesity compared to previous local studies and the correlation between personality traits, eating habits and physical activity-lifestyle.

Insights about personality traits and cognitive performance and decline in adults 51-59 Years old from the Wisconsin longitudinal study

OBJECTIVES

To delineate midlife personality dimensions of early cognitive change in an age-homogenous sample of U.S. older adults.

DESIGN

Longitudinal study of 6133 adults from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS).

MEASURES

Middle-aged participants (mean age = 53.2; SD = 0.6) from the WLS completed the 'Big-5' personality assessment in 1992. Mixed effects models examined whether midlife personality traits were associated with change in cognitive performance from participant's mid-60s (2004-2005) to early 70s (2011). The cognitive battery assessed abstract reasoning (AR), category fluency (CF), working memory (WM), and delayed verbal memory (DVM). Models adjusted for sex, education, and subjective health.

RESULTS

High Openness was a significant predictor of change in AR, CF, and DVM. These cognitive outcomes declined less among those with high Openness, but the effect sizes for Openness by time were small (R2 s < 0.01). AR and CF were characterized by higher overall performance with high Openness, but with relatively parallel change for the highest and lowest Openness quartiles. There was no advantage of Openness to DVM by the second assessment. High Conscientiousness was a predictor of more change for DVM, though the effect size was small (R 2  < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

None of the midlife personality traits were uniformly associated with change in cognitive performance in early older adulthood. High midlife Openness had the most noteworthy impact on cognition. Interventions designed to target Openness have potential to elevate and maintain a higher threshold of performance in some cognitive domains, but may only have a small impact on cognitive change.

Influence of personality traits, gender, and socio-economic factors in obesity in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

Obesity is a chronic disorder associated with high mortality rates and high morbidity. The risk of obesity is associated with certain personality traits (PTs). Some studies have found correlations among some PTs and gender. Additionally, obesity implies higher costs in daily living. The aim of this paper is to overcome this problem in the literature and estimate the association between PTs and obesity by taking into account the economic situation of the individual. This study employs data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). We focus on waves 5 and 6 of the ELSA with a sample of 6562 individuals. The results suggests that the traits of agreeableness ( β = 0.071 , se = 0.016 , p < 0.001 $$ \beta =0.071, se=0.016,\kern0.5em p<0.001 $$ ) and openness ( β = 0.028 , se : 0.014 , p < 0.001 $$ \beta =0.028, se:0.014,\kern0.5em p<0.001 $$ ) are positively and significantly associated with obesity. On the other hand, consciousness has a negative and statistically significant effect on obesity β = 0.072 , se : 0.017 , p < 0.001 $$ \left(\beta =0.072, se:0.017,\kern0.5em p<0.001\right) $$ . Results are robust to the inclusion/exclusion of different regressors.

Meaning in life and health behavior habits during the COVID-19 pandemic: Mediating role of health values and moderating role of conscientiousness

An increasing number of studies have explored health behavior changes since the COVID-19 outbreak, however, the potential mechanism leading to the acquisition of COVID-19-related health behavior habits remains largely underexplored. The current study aimed to investigate how meaning in life contributed to the Chinese general public's acquisition of COVID-19-related health behavior habits, and whether health values would play a mediating role and conscientiousness would play a further moderating role in this relation. A total of 1024 Chinese participants (age range = 17-63 years; 67.29% females) were recruited by posting flyers on an open-access web forum. All participants voluntarily completed a series of online anonymous questionnaires assessing conscientiousness, meaning in life, health values and health behavior habits. Results showed that (1) the majority of the respondents reported the acquisition of COVID-19-related health behavior habits, and meaning in life positively predicted COVID-19-related health behavior habits; (2) health values mediated the link between meaning in life and health behavior habits; and (3) conscientiousness moderated the indirect effect, such that the indirect effect was stronger among individuals with low conscientiousness. These findings have important implications for revealing the reconstruction of the Chinese public's health behavior habits and its potential mechanism that meaning in life influences health behavior habits through health values during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly for individuals with low conscientiousness.

Impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on lifestyle behaviors and their association with personality among adults in Qatar: A cross-sectional study

The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) resulted in lockdowns and social distancing measures enforced by governments around the world. This study aimed to identify changes in adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) and physical activity (PA) and associations with personality during lockdown. Using a cross-sectional design, a convenient sample of 543 adults in Qatar completed an online questionnaire consisting of validated tools to measure adherence to MD (MEDAS questionnaire, score ranges 0–13), PA (IPAQ, assessing light, moderate high intensity PA) and personality (BFI-10, categorizing individuals’ personalities). The majority of the participants were female (89%), aged between 21 and 29 years (45%). The overall MD adherence decreased during lockdown (5.9 vs. 6.1, p < 0.001). There was an increase in olive oil (9% vs. 12%; p < 0.001), vegetables (54.3% vs. 58.7%; p = 0.005), legumes (11.8% vs. 15.3%; p = 0.007), sofrito (70.9% vs. 77.3%; p < 0.001) and fat (45.9% vs. 53.8%; p < 0.001) consumption and a decrease in fresh fruit (39.4% vs. 15.8%; p < 0.001) and fish/seafood (5.9% vs. 3.9%; p = 0.0035) consumption during lockdown. Met-min/week values of total PA (1330.5 vs. 1836.7), vigorous activity (711.5 vs. 867.4), moderate activity (208.3 vs. 301.3), and walking (410.7 vs. 668.0) all decreased during lockdown (p < 0.001, p = 0.010, p = 0.010 p < 0.001, respectively), while sitting increased (3837.3 vs. 2896.4 p < 0.001). The extraversion personality dimension had a higher MD adherence (p = 0.039) compared to agreeableness before lockdown. No changes in MEDAS scores were observed during lockdown in those with high levels of openness. Openness was positively associated with all PA (p = 0.027), including walking (p = 0.026), and negatively associated with sitting (p = 0.038) before lockdown, while participants with high scores for neuroticism were less likely to be sitting during lockdown (p = 0.042). The findings can be used to guide the development of appropriate personality-tailored lifestyle interventions.

Type D Personality and Health Behaviors in People Living with Obesity

BACKGROUND

Considering that health behaviors and personality traits play an important role in the formation of health attitudes, the main objective of this study was to evaluate the relations that occur between type D personality and health behaviors in a group of obese patients.

METHODS

443 adult patients with BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2, who had been hospitalized in selected hospital facilities in the Silesian Voivodeship (Poland), participated in the study. Respondents completed three standardized questionnaires-the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale, version A (MHLC-A), the Inventory of Health Behaviors (IZZ), and the Type D Scale (DS-14).

RESULTS

Patients with type D personality were characterized by the least effective mental attitudes and preventive behaviors, and differed significantly from the other personality types (intermediate and non-type D). Type D personality increased the risk of initiating improper health behaviors by more than five times. Regarding the sense of health control, patients with type D personality had significantly lower scores for the Internal Dimension subscale (21.3 ± 3.1) and higher for the Powerful Others Dimension subscale (24.0 ± 2.6), compared to patients with intermediate and non-type D personality. Proper health behaviors correlated with an internal sense of health control; the strongest correlation, defined as a medium, was with Preventive Behaviors (R = 0.42; p < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

Type D personality was associated with poorer attitudes towards health. Among obese respondents with a type D personality, there was a significantly higher prevalence of those who believed that their health status was a consequence of chance events.

The Relationship between Personality Traits and Compliance with the COVID-19 Preventive Measures in Kosovo

The COVID-19 pandemic urged systematic restrictive measures in order to avoid the spread of the virus. Different countries applied different restrictive measures; however, their efficacy was vastly dependent on the willingness of the people to comply with them. How people perceived the pandemic yielded different adaptive behavior to preventative measures. In this direction, individual characteristics (i.e., personality) seem very important. The current study aimed to map a relationship between personality structure as postulated within the five-factor model of personality with the tendency to comply with preventive measures, as mediated by perceived stress and concerns over coronavirus. In a sample of 3252 adults, we found that the traits of openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness directly and positively predicted compliance. However, concerns over coronavirus partially but positively mediated the relationship between agreeableness and conscientiousness on compliance. Perceived stress, on the other hand, was not a significant mediator, although it was significantly and positively predicted by neuroticism but negatively by extraversion. These findings showed that different personality traits have different direct effects on compliance with preventative measures.

The Relationship between Conscientiousness and Well-Being among Chinese Undergraduate Students: A Cross-Lagged Study

Chinese culture attaches great importance to the education and cultivation of youth conscientiousness, however in the context of Chinese culture, little is known about the relationship between conscientiousness and mental and physical health. The present study aimed to investigate whether there is a reciprocal relationship between conscientiousness and well-being (subjective and physical well-being) among Chinese undergraduate students. A series of self-reported questionnaires were administered to 365 undergraduate students in 2 waves, separated by 1 year. Cross-lagged regression analyses were applied to examine the reciprocal relationships. Results indicated that conscientiousness positively predicted subsequent levels of positive affect and life satisfaction, while negatively predicted subsequent levels of negative affect and physical symptoms, controlling for the effects of gender, age, body-mass index, socioeconomic status, and the prior level of conscientiousness. Whereas, positive and negative affect, life satisfaction, and physical symptoms did not significantly predict subsequent levels of conscientiousness. This study suggests that conscientiousness is a robust and prospective predictor of subjective and physical well-being. The reciprocal relationship between conscientiousness and well-being was not confirmed in the current sample of Chinese undergraduate students.

Association of Personality Traits with Life and Work of Medical Students: An Integrative Review

BACKGROUND

Personality traits are the basic components of an individual's personality. Although there are many published articles about the impact of personality traits on medical students, there is a lack of integrative reviews of existing articles. To close this gap, this review aims to summarize the impact of personality traits on medical students from two perspectives: life and work.

METHODS

The search was performed using the following databases: PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and EMBASE. All publications that assessed the impact of personality traits on life and work until February 2022 were selected.

RESULTS

Ninety-seven studies were included. The results suggest that personality traits could affect life performance, health outcomes, life satisfaction, the formation of doctor-patient relationships, mastery of knowledge, academic performance, and career planning. Different personality traits can have positive or negative impacts on these aspects.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this review suggest that personality traits can affect medical students' lives and work. Therefore, based on the evaluation of the personality traits of medical students, it is necessary to design targeted courses and training for students to improve their personality traits, to bring about better results in their lives and work.

The Association between Smoking Cessation and Depressive Symptoms: Diet Quality Plays a Mediating Role

Objective: This cross-sectional study aimed to explore the association between smoking cessation and depressive symptoms and investigate the mediating role of dietary quality. Methods: We used data from the 2007–2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Logistic regression models were applied to evaluate the associations between smoking cessation and depressive symptoms. Stratified analysis was performed according to different HEI levels. We examined the mediating role of HEI in the relationship between depressive symptoms and cessation duration using the Karlson–Holm–Breen (KHB) method. Results: A total of 20,004 participants aged 20 years or older were included in the analyses. There were significant correlations between years for smoking cessation and depressive symptoms (OR: 0.985, 95% CI: 0.971~0.999) after adjusting for correlation covariables. A likelihood ratio test showed that there was an interaction between smoking cessation and diet quality (p = 0.047). In the mediation analysis, we estimated that the increase in HEI scores after quitting smoking could explain the 6.91% decline in depressive symptoms. Conclusion: In this cross-sectional study, smoking cessation showed a protective effect on depressive symptoms and that diet quality can influence and mediate this association.

Mastery Is Associated With Weight Status, Food Intake, Snacking, and Eating Disorder Symptoms in the NutriNet-Santé Cohort Study

Mastery is a psychological resource that is defined as the extent to which individuals perceive having control over important circumstances of their lives. Although mastery has been associated with various physical and psychological health outcomes, studies assessing its relationship with weight status and dietary behavior are lacking. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess the relationship between mastery and weight status, food intake, snacking, and eating disorder (ED) symptoms in the NutriNet-Santé cohort study. Mastery was measured with the Pearlin Mastery Scale (PMS) in 32,588 adults (77.45% female), the mean age was 50.04 (14.53) years. Height and weight were self-reported. Overall diet quality and food group consumption were evaluated with ≥3 self-reported 24-h dietary records (range: 3-27). Snacking was assessed with an ad-hoc question. ED symptoms were assessed with the Sick-Control-One-Fat-Food Questionnaire (SCOFF). Linear and logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess the relationship between mastery and weight status, food intake, snacking, and ED symptoms, controlling for sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics. Females with a higher level of mastery were less likely to be underweight (OR: 0.88; 95%CI: 0.84, 0.93), overweight [OR: 0.94 (0.91, 0.97)], or obese [class I: OR: 0.86 (0.82, 0.90); class II: OR: 0.76 (0.71, 0.82); class III: OR: 0.77 (0.69, 0.86)]. Males with a higher level of mastery were less likely to be obese [class III: OR: 0.75 (0.57, 0.99)]. Mastery was associated with better diet quality overall, a higher consumption of fruit and vegetables, seafood, wholegrain foods, legumes, non-salted oleaginous fruits, and alcoholic beverages and with a lower consumption of meat and poultry, dairy products, sugary and fatty products, milk-based desserts, and sweetened beverages. Mastery was also associated with lower snacking frequency [OR: 0.89 (0.86, 0.91)] and less ED symptoms [OR: 0.73 (0.71, 0.75)]. As mastery was associated with favorable dietary behavior and weight status, targeting mastery might be a promising approach in promoting healthy behaviors.

Clinical Trial Registry Number

NCT03335644 at Clinicaltrials.gov.

Relationship between personality traits and health behavior among working women in Japan

Considering personality traits is effective for cultivating health promotion habits. Therefore, individualized interventions that account for personality traits would be more beneficial for modifying health behaviors. The present study describes the relationship between personality traits and health behaviors among working women compared with non-working women in Japan. Secondary analysis was conducted using nationally representative data from the Japanese Household Panel Survey (JHPS/KHPS). In the 2019 wave, data were gathered from 1,141 women (939 who were working and 202 who were not) between the ages of 28 and 65. Associations among health behaviors, personality traits, and employment status were confirmed by phi coefficient and coefficient ratio. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the association between health behaviors and personality traits. As for working women, daily fruit consumption was associated with extraversion (odds ratio [OR], 1.197; p = 0.003) and conscientiousness (OR, 1.238; p = 0.032). Conscientiousness has been found to significantly contribute to low-risk alcohol consumption (OR, 1.213; p = 0.035). Desirable physical activity habit was associated with extraversion (OR, 1.312; p = 0.000). In contrast, among non-working women, desirable physical activity habits was associated with extraversion (OR, 1.573; p = 0.007) and neuroticism (OR, 0.390; p = 0.001). Further research is needed to clarify the mechanisms underlying differences between working women and non-working women in the association between health behaviors and personality.

Beyond BMI: Personality traits' associations with adiposity and metabolic rate

Various personality traits are known to correlate with body mass index (BMI). However, this index of adiposity conflates fat mass with lean body mass and may therefore lead to biased estimates of correlations. Yet, rarely have studies looked beyond BMI to understand how adiposity and other physiological characteristics relate to these psychological traits. Using previously validated formulas, we calculated an improved measure of adiposity (relative fat mass, RFM), as well as basal metabolic rate (BMR); explored their associations with various personality traits; and assessed how personality traits' associations with RFM differ from their associations with BMI. In a subsample of the Estonian Biobank (N = 3535), we compared how the five domains and 30 facets of NEO Personality Inventory-3 correlated with RFM, BMI, and BMR. Various traits, notably Openness to Experience and its facets, were associated with RFM above and beyond BMI; these traits may relate to lower adiposity through eating habits. Assertiveness, a facet of Extraversion, correlated more strongly with BMI than with RFM and also correlated with BMR. These correlations mirror associations of metabolic rate with conceptually similar traits in non-human animals and are consistent with Assertiveness being based on biological processes. Finally, BMI-personality trait correlations appeared to conflate personality traits' associations with fat mass and lean mass; the use of BMI as an indicator of adiposity can lead to both attenuated and inflated estimates of personality trait-adiposity associations.

Association between positive psychological traits and changes in dietary behaviour related to first COVID-19 lockdown: A general population-based study

Background

The spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) led many countries to implement lockdown measures, which resulted in changes in dietary behaviours that could persist over the long term and have associated health consequences. Psychological traits may impact these changes given their known association with dietary behaviours. We aimed to investigate in a population-based study, whether positive psychological traits were associated with changes of snacking behaviour and food consumption observed during the first COVID-19 lockdown period.

Design

In 2016, levels of optimism, resilience, self-esteem, satisfaction with life, mindfulness and mastery were assessed in 33,766 adults of the French NutriNet-Santé cohort. Snacking and food group consumption were assessed in April–May 2020. Association between psychological traits and changes (no change, increase, decrease) in snacking and food group consumption were assessed using logistic regressions. Multiple correspondence analysis followed by ascending hierarchical classification were used to derive clusters of dietary behaviours. Covariance analyses were used to compare mean scores of psychological traits between clusters. Analyses were adjusted for sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics, anxiety and depressive symptomatology.

Results

Participants with higher levels of optimism, resilience, self-esteem, satisfaction with life, mindfulness or mastery were less likely to change their snacking behaviour and food group consumption of various food groups. Individuals with lower levels were more likely to make changes, with either unhealthy (e.g., less fruits and vegetables, more processed meat) or healthy (e.g., more pasta/rice (whole-grain)) changes. Overall, individuals showed higher levels of positive psychological traits in the “no change” cluster, followed by the “healthy” and the “unhealthy” cluster (all P < 0.05).

Conclusions

Individuals with higher levels of optimism, resilience, self-esteem, satisfaction with life, mindfulness or mastery were less impacted by the lockdown in terms of dietary behaviours.

Cross-sectional association of Toxoplasma gondii exposure with BMI and diet in US adults

Toxoplasmosis gondii exposure has been linked to increased impulsivity and risky behaviors, which has implications for eating behavior. Impulsivity and risk tolerance is known to be related with worse diets and a higher chance of obesity. There is little known, however, about the independent link between Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) exposure and diet-related outcomes. Using linear and quantile regression, we estimated the relationship between T. gondii exposure and BMI, total energy intake (kcal), and diet quality as measured by the Health Eating Index-2015 (HEI) among 9,853 adults from the 2009–2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Previous studies have shown different behavioral responses to T. gondii infection among males and females, and socioeconomic factors are also likely to be important as both T. gondii and poor diet are more prevalent among U.S. populations in poverty. We therefore measured the associations between T. gondii and diet-related outcomes separately for men and women and for respondents in poverty. Among females <200% of the federal poverty level Toxoplasmosis gondii exposure was associated with a higher BMI by 2.0 units (95% CI [0.22, 3.83]) at median BMI and a lower HEI by 5.05 units (95% CI [-7.87, -2.24]) at the 25^th percentile of HEI. Stronger associations were found at higher levels of BMI and worse diet quality among females. No associations were found among males. Through a detailed investigation of mechanisms, we were able to rule out T. gondii exposure from cat ownership, differing amounts of meat, and drinking water source as potential confounding factors; environmental exposure to T. gondii as well as changes in human behavior due to parasitic infection remain primary mechanisms.

Toxoplasmosis gondii (T. gondii) is a parasite that infects over 10 percent of the US population. T. gondii infection can cause serious health problems for some people, but most infections remain undiagnosed and subclinical. When an individual is infected, T. gondii can chronically reside in muscle and central nervous system (including brain) tissue. Previous studies have found that individuals with prior exposure to T. gondii may engage in more risky and impulsive behaviors, and risk tolerance and impulsivity may be related with individual’s diet. Our study examines whether individuals with T. gondii exposure have higher body mass index (BMI) and worse diets. We further discuss and test for alternative explanations that prevent us from establishing a causal relationship between T. gondii and BMI/diet. Overall, our results show that T. gondii exposure is related with higher BMI and worse diets among lower-income females in the US. Our results uncover a novel correlate of BMI and diets, and suggest the importance of investigating the broader public health impacts of chronic T. gondii infection.

Effects of dietary patterns on driving behaviours among professional truck drivers: the mediating effect of fatigue

OBJECTIVE

To explore the impact of the dietary patterns of truck drivers on their driving behaviours and the mediation effect of fatigue between these factors.

METHODS

A sample of 389 male truck drivers from a transport company in Suzhou, China completed the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI), the Positive Driver Behaviours Scale (PDBS) and the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ). The associations among dietary patterns, fatigue and driving behaviour were examined using pathway analysis.

RESULTS

Four dietary patterns were identified based on principal component analysis: animal-derived foods, staple foods, snacks and vegetables. The pathway analysis showed that the vegetable-rich pattern had a direct positive impact on positive driving behaviour (β=0.211, p<0.001); the animal-derived pattern had a direct positive impact on errors (β=0.094, p<0.05) and ordinary violations (β=0.071, p<0.05); the snacks pattern had a direct negative impact on positive driving behaviour (β=-0.191, p<0.001); fatigue mediated the effect of dietary patterns on driving behaviours (p<0.001); and the staple foods had an indirect effect on driving behaviours.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, the driving behaviours of truck drivers are correlated with their dietary patterns. Drivers who preferred vegetables and staple foods had more positive driving behaviour, while the animal-derived food and snack patterns were related to dangerous driving behaviour. The experience of fatigue could explained the underlying mechanism between these factors.

An Ontology-Based Framework for Psychological Monitoring in Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic

BACKGROUND

Especially in the current crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown it entailed, technology became crucial. Machines need to be able to interpret and represent human behavior, to improve human interaction with technology. This holds for all domains but even more so for the domain of student behavior in relation to education and psychological well-being.

METHODS

This work presents the theoretical framework of a psychologically driven computing ontology, CCOnto, describing situation-based human behavior in relation to psychological states and traits. In this manuscript, we use and apply CCOnto as a theoretical and formal description system to categorize psychological factors that influence student behavior during the COVID-19 situation. By doing so, we show the added value of ontologies, i.e., their ability to automatically organize information from unstructured human data by identifying and categorizing relevant psychological concepts.

RESULTS

The already existing CCOnto was modified to automatically categorize university students' state and trait markers related to different aspects of student behavior, including learning, worrying, health, and socially based on psychological theorizing and psychological data conceptualization.

DISCUSSION

The paper discusses the potential advantages of using ontologies for describing and modeling psychological research questions. The handling of dataset completion, unification, and its explanation by means of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning models is also discussed.

How vegans, vegetarians and carnists differ in personality traits and attitudes towards animals

BACKGROUND

Food decisions and dietary preferences are affected by a complex set of different cultural or regional factors, but personality traits seem to play an important role too. Previous research suggested that the food preferences related to veganism, vegetarianism, or carnism can be predicted by the Big Five model of personality and reflected in the attitudes towards animals.

PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE

The present study examined personality traits and attitudes towards animals of 190 (M = 24.90, SD = 7.18) Slovak participants, of whom 57 were vegans, 56 vegetarians, and 77 carnists. To measure Big Five personality traits, the Big Five Inventory-2 (BFI-2) was used. Attitudes towards animals were measured by the short 10-item version of the Animal Attitude Scale (AAS-10).

RESULTS

Vegans and vegetarians scored significantly higher than carnists in open-mindedness and attitude towards animals; there was no difference between scores of vegans and vegetarians. No relationship between the diet groups and demographic variables (gender, education, and age) was identified. From personality traits and sociodemo-graphic variables, only open-mindedness was a significant predictor of attitudes towards animals.

CONCLUSIONS

Vegans and vegetarians differ from carnists primarily in one trait: open-mindedness. Vegans and vegetarians also differ from carnists by holding more positive attitudes towards animals.

Personality Traits and Cardiotoxicity Arising From Cancer Treatments: An Hypothesized Relationship

Thanks to the evolution in medical and pharmaceutical research, to date, the number of cancer treatments is increasingly on the rise. Despite this, several side effects related to cancer treatments can exacerbate patients’ physical and psychological conditions, such as cardiotoxicity. Over the years, researchers have explored the possible relationship between psychological variables and physical diseases. Even though some authors examined the relationship between personality and specific diseases, no scientific attention has been paid to the role of personality in the development of cardiotoxicity arising from cancer treatments. Yet this is an important objective, given that determining whether personality influences cardiac toxicity of anticancer treatments could inform the processes by which stable psychological factors influence health. This contribution summarizes and analyzes the available scientific evidence about the association between personality and main cardiotoxicity-related-diseases of anticancer therapies, including cancer and cardiovascular diseases, in order to sketch a hypothetical model of the relationship between personality traits and cardiotoxicity.

How can different psychological and behavioural constructs be used to personalise weight management? Development of the diet styles

The aim of this study was first, to explore whether distinct combinations of key psychological and eating-related characteristics, could be identified and, second, whether these styles were related to measures of dieting success such as weight status and the number of previous weight loss attempts. Participants were any person 18 years or older with access to the internet and were recruited through Facebook to complete a 30-min, online survey. The survey included 23 different measures of factors related to personality, eating behaviours and current weight management. 1047 (68.3% of starters) completed the full survey. These people were 82.4% female with a mean age of 42.54 years (SD = 14.07). Factor analysis using Maximum Likelihood Extraction method with Promax rotation resulted in the extraction of 5 novel factors: Temptation (including experiencing cravings and difficulty controlling eating); Foodie (higher engagement and involvement with food); Overthinking (neuroticism, behavioural inhibition and perfectionistic tendencies); Social (extroversion and agreeableness); Impulsivity (impulsivity, lower conscientiousness, higher fun-seeking). Each of the factors associated bivariately, and in the expected direction, with behaviours such as vegetable consumption, frequency of diet attempts, and self-rated health. Each possible diet style is described further and interpreted in the context of existing literature with a focus on how understanding these could help personalise future interventions. Future work will validate this structure in different samples.

The behavioral pathway model to overweight and obesity: coping strategies, eating behaviors and body mass index

PURPOSE

Obese and overweight people deal with more daily problems and stressful situations than normal-weight individuals, for example, discrimination and bias. The aims of the present study were twofold: to identify differences between overweight and normal-weight people in coping strategies and eating behaviors, and to examine the relationship between coping strategies, eating behaviors and BMI.

METHODS

Sample of the present study consisted of 473 participants, 76.7% women (mean age = 32.7; SD = 11.4). Participants completed an ad hoc sociodemographic data questionnaire, the Coping Strategies Inventory, and the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire. Welch's t test and X² comparison analysis were used to identify differences in coping strategies and eating behaviors, according two BMI groups, normal weight and overweight. To analyze the relationship between coping strategies, eating behaviors and BMI, a structural equation modeling was conducted.

RESULTS

Overweight participants score significantly higher in passive coping strategies such as self-criticism, wishful thinking and social withdrawal, and unhealthy eating behaviors such as emotional eating and restrained eating. Structural equation modeling included these variables, coping strategies are more likely to conduct to unhealthy eating behaviors and these are more likely to promote and maintain a high BMI. The model showed an adequate data fit.

CONCLUSIONS

This research proposes a relationship between the variables analyzed. It has been proved that passive coping strategies predict a high BMI via unhealthy eating behaviors, especially emotional eating. These results are promising to improve the current prevention obesity programs and weight control treatments.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level III, case-control analytic study.

Individual differences in functional food consumption: The role of time perspective and the Big Five personality traits

Prior research suggests inconsistent relationships between individuals' personality traits, time perspective, and specific behavior. In a large representative sample of Norwegian consumers (N = 810), we investigated the relationships between the Big Five personality traits, domain-specific consideration of future consequences (CFC), and consumption of functional foods. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the hypothesized associations. Both CFC-Future and CFC-Immediate were positively related to the consumption of functional foods, whereas personality traits exerted no direct influence on consumption. Several significant associations between personality traits and CFC-Future and CFC-Immediate were found, and three of the five personality traits-Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism-exerted indirect effects on consumption frequency via CFC-Future. Results support an integrative and hierarchical understanding of how personality traits and time perspective interact in explaining variation in functional food consumption. The findings support the notion that (domain-specific) CFC is better conceptualized as two distinct-albeit related constructs-that are shaped, in part, by broader personality traits.

Family function and eating behaviours among Hispanic/Latino youth: results from the Hispanic Community Children's Health Study/Study of Latino Youth (SOL Youth)

OBJECTIVE

To elucidate mechanisms across family function, home environment and eating behaviours within sociocultural context among Hispanic youth.

DESIGN

Two models tested via path analysis (youth fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption; empty energy consumption) using data from the Study of Latino Youth (2011-2013).

SETTING

Chicago, IL; Miami, FL; Bronx, NY; San Diego, CA.

PARTICIPANTS

Youth (8-16-year-olds), n 1466.

RESULTS

Youth ate 2·4 servings of FV per d and received 27 % of total energy from empty energies. Perceiving higher acculturative stress was indirectly associated with lower FV consumption via a pathway of low family function and family support for FV (β = -0·013, P < 0·001) and via lower family closeness and family support (β = -0·004, P = 0·004). Being >12-year-olds was indirectly associated with lower FV consumption via lower family closeness and family support (β = -0·006, P < 0·001). Household food security was indirectly associated with greater FV consumption via family closeness and family support (β = 0·005, P = 0·003). In contrast, perceiving higher acculturative stress was indirectly associated with higher empty energy consumption (via family closeness and family support: β = 0·003, P = 0·028 and via low family function and low family support: β = 0·008, P = 0·05). Being older was associated with higher consumption of empty energies via family closeness (related to family support: β = 0·04, P = 0·016; parenting strategies for eating: β = 0·002, P = 0·049).

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest pathways of influence across demographic and sociocultural context, family dynamics and home environment. The directionality of these associations needs confirmation using longitudinal data.

Temperament profiles are associated with dietary behavior from childhood to adulthood

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Temperament may be associated with eating behaviors over the lifespan. This study examined the association of toddlerhood temperament with dietary behavior and dietary intervention outcomes across 18 years.

METHODS

The study comprised 660 children (52% boys) from The Special Turku Intervention Project (STRIP), which is a longitudinal randomized controlled trial from the age of 7 months until the age of 20 years (1990-2010). Temperament was assessed using Carey temperament scales when the participants were 2 years of age. Latent profile analysis yielded three temperament groups, which were called negative/low regulation (19% of the children), neutral/average regulation (52%) and positive/high regulation (28%). Dietary behavior was examined from 2 to 20 years of age using food records, which were converted into a diet score (mean = 15.7, SD 4.6). Mixed random-intercept growth curve analysis was the main analytic method.

RESULTS

Dietary behavior showed a significant quadratic U-shaped curve over time (B for quadratic association = 0.39, P<.001; B for linear association = 0.09, P = 0.58). Children in the negative/low regulation temperament group had a lower diet score (less healthy diet) across the 18 years compared to children in the neutral/average or in the positive/high regulation group. Temperament was not associated with the rate of change in diet over time. Temperament did not have any interactive effects with the intervention (F [2, 627], P = 0.72).

CONCLUSION

Children with a temperament profile characterized by high negative mood, high irregularity and high intensity in emotion expression constitute a risk group for less healthy eating over the lifespan.

Personality traits, dieting self-efficacy and health behaviors in emerging adult women: implications for health promotion and education

Background: The purpose of this study was to explore the associations between personality traits and dieting self-efficacy as well as health behaviors among emerging adult women. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the sample consisted of 161 participants in age from 19 to 25 years, who were administered the NEO-Five-Factor Inventory, the Health BehaviorsInventory (HBI), and the Dieting Self-Efficacy Scale (DIET-SE). Results: Our findings indicated that personality traits explained both health behaviors and dieting self-efficacy (F = 6.21, df = 5,155, P<0.001, F = 6.42, df = 5,155, P<0.001, respectively).Neuroticism (B = -0.45, P<0.01) and agreeableness (B = 0.39, P<0.01) were investigated as significant predictors of females' health behaviors, whereas extraversion (B = -0.40, P<0.001),agreeableness (B = 0.20, P<0.05), and conscientiousness (B = 0.33, P<0.01) were related to dieting self-efficacy. In addition, the results suggested the mediational effect of dieting self efficacy in the relationship between personality traits (i.e., consciousness and agreeableness)and general health behaviors. Conclusion: The role of personality traits for dieting self-efficacy as well as physical health among emerging adult women was confirmed. As dieting self-efficacy turned out to be a mediation factor, the findings may be used in psychoeducation for patients.

A goal-systems perspective on plant-based eating: keys to successful adherence in university students

OBJECTIVE

To explore adherence to a plant-based diet from the perspective of goals- and motivations-based systems.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional, survey-based study was conducted regarding eating patterns, goals and motivations for current eating habits.

SETTING

Data were collected using an online survey platform, including the Goal Systems Assessment Battery (GSAB) and other survey tools.

PARTICIPANTS

University students were recruited, including thirty-three students reporting successful maintenance of a plant-based diet (Adherents) and sixty-three students trying to adhere to a plant-based diet (Non-adherents).

RESULTS

Using GSAB subscale scores, discriminant function analyses significantly differentiated adherents v. non-adherents, accounting for 49·0 % of between-group variance (χ2 (13) = 42·03, P < 0·000). It correctly classified 72·7 % of adherents and 88·9 % of non-adherents. Constructs including value, self-efficacy, planning/stimulus control and positive affect were significant and included in the discriminant function. Logistic regression results suggested that participants who successfully adhered to a plant-based diet were seventeen times more likely to report 'To manage or treat a medical condition' as motivation and almost seven times more likely to report 'To align with my ethical beliefs' as motivation compared with non-adherents. However, these participants were 94 % less likely to report 'To maintain and/or improve my health' as motivation compared with non-adherents. Controlling for motivations, hierarchical logistic regression showed that only planning as part of the GSAB self-regulatory system predicted adherence to a plant-based diet.

CONCLUSIONS

Values-based approaches to plant-based diets, including consideration for ethical beliefs, self-efficacy and proper planning, may be key for successful maintenance of this diet long-term.

Personality, Chrono-nutrition and Cardiometabolic Health: A Narrative Review of the Evidence

Growing evidence suggests that personality traits play a role in obesity and cardiometabolic health. In addition, irregularity of food intake has emerged as a potential risk factor for obesity, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic syndrome. Recent studies suggest that when we eat, termed "chrono-nutrition," may be as important to what we eat. This concept covers 3 aspects: 1) irregularity of energy intake in meals (varying amounts of energy intake throughout the day and at different times from one day to the next), 2) frequency (number of meals per day), and 3) timing of food intake (actual time of day). A narrative review was conducted to identify literature evaluating the effect of personality on chrono-nutrition and subsequently obesity and cardiometabolic health. The search focused on research published since 2000 in MEDLINE using the search terms "personality," "chrono-nutrition," "cardiometabolic," "BMI," "obesity," and "metabolic rate." Findings indicate an inverse relation between conscientiousness and obesity, with people who are more conscientious having a lower risk of obesity. Furthermore, time of day of energy intake has been linked to obesity, since meals consumed in the evening have been associated with lower resting metabolic rate. Inconsistent timing and frequency of meals have also been linked to increased body weight and worse cardiometabolic health. Together, the data indicate that eating meals at the same time every day at regular intervals might be the reason why those who score high in conscientiousness are able to maintain a healthier weight. Despite the reviewed observational evidence, there is an apparent gap in the existing literature on the interplay between personality, chrono-nutrition, and obesity and particularly on how dietary interventions should be designed considering different personality traits. Future research is needed to clarify this association and how it interacts with other factors, thus elucidating the role of chrono-nutrition in health.

Why young women gain weight: A narrative review of influencing factors and possible solutions

Significant weight gain occurs in women during young adulthood, which increases risk of diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and many cancers. This review aims to inform future individually targeted weight gain prevention programmes and summarizes possible targets: key life events, mediators that influence energy intake and physical activity levels, and moderators that could identify groups of women at greatest risk. Life events affecting weight include pregnancy and motherhood, smoking cessation, marriage and cohabiting, attending university, and possibly bereavement. Research has identified successful methods for preventing weight gain associated with pregnancy and motherhood, which could now be used in practice, but evidence is inconclusive for preventing weight gain around other life events. Weight gain is mediated by lack of knowledge and skills around food and nutrition, depression, anxiety, stress, satiety, neural responses, and possibly sleep patterns and premenstrual cravings. A paucity of research exists into altering these to limit weight gain. Moderators include socioeconomic status, genetics, personality traits, and eating styles. More research is required to identify at-risk females and engage them in weight gain prevention. There is a need to address evidence gaps highlighted and implement what is currently known to develop effective strategies to limit weight gain in young women.

Associations Between Broader Autism Phenotype and Dietary Intake: A Cross-Sectional Study (Japan Environment & Children's Study)

The purpose of the present study was to investigate associations of dietary intake including vitamin D, folate, and n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in pregnant women with broad autism phenotype (BAP). The Japan Environment and Children's Study is a government-funded birth cohort study. All complete data of 92,011 were analyzed. The Japanese version of the Autism Spectrum Quotient was used to assess mothers' BAP level, and a food frequency questionnaire was used to estimate their dietary intake. Mothers with BAP consumed less vegetables, fruits, and fish and shellfish, and they consumed lower folate, vitamin C, vitamin D, and n-3 PUFA than their counterparts. Dietary intervention should be considered for pregnant women with high BAP scores.

Normal variations in personality predict eating behavior, oral health, and partial syndrome bulimia nervosa in adolescent girls

Eating disorders are among the most prevalent disorders in adolescence and can have negative consequences including poor quality of life, medical complications, and even death. This study addresses whether normal variations in personality relate to eating behavior and eating disorder symptomatology in adolescent girls. Participants were a near-representative sample of Australian adolescent girls (n = 1,676). Three personality traits (neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness) were assessed at age 12 and again at age 14, and self-reported eating and weight management behaviors were assessed at age 14. After controlling for sociodemographic factors, higher levels of conscientiousness at age 12, and increases in conscientiousness between ages 12 and 14, were associated with greater fruit and vegetable consumption, a lower intake of high fat foods and high sugar drinks, less frequent meal skipping, better oral health, and decreased risk of partial syndrome bulimia nervosa at age 14. Higher neuroticism at age 12 was associated with more frequent meal skipping, and increases in neuroticism between ages 12 and 14 were associated with more frequent meal skipping and increased risk of partial syndrome bulimia nervosa at age 14. Extraversion was generally unrelated to eating and weight management behaviors. These findings provide evidence that normal variations in personality are related to eating behavior, oral health, and eating disorder symptoms during midadolescence.

Binge Drinking in Spanish University Students: Associated Factors and Repercussions: A Preliminary Study

Alcohol consumption is common among young people. We performed a preliminary cross-sectional study among students (aged 18-30 years) enrolled for the academic year 2018-2019 at the Faculty of Nursing, University of Cantabria (Spain). We collected information on psychological and sociographic factors, tobacco and cannabis uses, and levels of physical activity by AUDIT questionnaires and in person interviews. The aim of our study was to assess the potential of binge drinking (BD) to adversely affect memory and executive function. We recruited 103 students, of whom 85% were female. The alcohol use pattern of slightly more than one-half of the total population was classified as BD. Among BD students, one-fourth were smokers, and nearly one-third had tried cannabis. The mean onset for alcohol use was 15.11 years. Despite our relatively small sample size, our results show that there are strong relationships between BD and both smoking and cannabis use.

The MMPI factor scales and risk of death in men during 45 years of follow-up: The Western Electric study

We examined associations between personality traits measured in 1958 and both all-cause and cause-specific mortality assessed 45 years later in 2003. Participants were 1,862 middle-aged men employed by the Western Electric Company. Outcomes were days to death from all causes, coronary heart disease, stroke, cancer, and causes other than circulatory diseases, cancer, accidents/homicide/suicides, or injuries (other causes). Measures in 1958 included age, education, health behaviors, biomedical risk factors, and nine content factors identified in the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). Four content factors-neuroticism, cynicism, extraversion, and intellectual interests-were related to the five-factor model domains of neuroticism, agreeableness, extraversion, and openness, respectively. The remaining five-psychoticism, masculinity versus femininity, religious orthodoxy, somatic complaints, and inadequacy-corresponded to the five-factor model's facets and styles (combinations of two domains) or were unrelated to the five-factor model. In age-adjusted and fully adjusted models, cynicism was associated with greater all-cause and cancer mortality. In fully adjusted models, inadequacy was associated with lower all-cause mortality and lower mortality from other causes. In age-adjusted models, religious orthodoxy was associated with lower cancer mortality. Further analyses revealed that the association between cynicism and all-cause mortality waned over time. Exploratory analyses of death from any disease of the circulatory system revealed no further associations. These findings reveal the importance of cynicism (disagreeableness) as a mortality risk factor, show that associations between cynicism and all-cause mortality are limited to certain periods of the lifespan, and highlight the need to study personality styles or types, such as inadequacy, that involve high neuroticism, low extraversion, and low conscientiousness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Owner and Cat-Related Risk Factors for Feline Overweight or Obesity

Feline obesity is a highly prevalent disease that poses an urgent and serious challenge. Attempted treatment by weight reduction is often unsuccessful; a new preventative approach that focuses on the role of the owner may be helpful. This study used data collected from an international survey of cat owners designed to assess owner personality and self-control, owner-pet attachment, feeding practices, and the cat's body condition. Owner-reported body condition scores (BCS) of cats were assessed using images adapted from a 5-point BCS system and categorized as a binary dependent variable: overweight/obese (BCS 4-5) and not overweight (BCS 1-3). Owner-reported BCS scores using a verbal BCS scale were also used as a binary dependent variable. Of the 6,835 respondents, 30.5% described their cat as overweight/obese using the visual BCS scale, and 32.5% using the verbal scale. Multivariable logistic regression models were built using stepwise-backward selection. A total of 8 variables were significant using the visual score as the dependent variable, while 11 variables were significant using the verbal score as the dependent variable (p < 0.05). Low owner conscientiousness was associated with an increased risk of feline overweight/obesity (OR = 1.23, 95% CI 1.10-1.38), whereas preference for delayed reward was associated with a decreased risk (OR = 0.84, 95% CI 0.75-0.96). Contrary to expectation, indulgent (OR = 0.76, 95% CI 0.53-0.91) and inconsistent (OR = 0.86, 95% CI 0.76-0.93) feeding practices appeared protective. Other significant variables (p < 0.05) included cat-related factors (age, gender, housing, source) and management-related factors (dry diet, supermarket dry diet, raw diet, stealing, hunting, and measuring food with a scoop). A third multivariable analysis was performed, using results from cats classified as overweight/obese using both scoring methods, compared with cats classified as a healthy weight using both scoring methods. A total of 10 variables were found to be significant (p < 0.05). There was significant overlap of results from all three analyses. The results of this study indicate that feline obesity is a complex problem, with many contributing risk factors. It is essential to recognize the importance of owner characteristics, and that the prevention of obesity in cats may require the development of a range of interventional strategies.

Owner and Cat-Related Risk Factors for Feline Overweight or Obesity

Feline obesity is a highly prevalent disease that poses an urgent and serious challenge. Attempted treatment by weight reduction is often unsuccessful; a new preventative approach that focuses on the role of the owner may be helpful. This study used data collected from an international survey of cat owners designed to assess owner personality and self-control, owner-pet attachment, feeding practices, and the cat's body condition. Owner-reported body condition scores (BCS) of cats were assessed using images adapted from a 5-point BCS system and categorized as a binary dependent variable: overweight/obese (BCS 4-5) and not overweight (BCS 1-3). Owner-reported BCS scores using a verbal BCS scale were also used as a binary dependent variable. Of the 6,835 respondents, 30.5% described their cat as overweight/obese using the visual BCS scale, and 32.5% using the verbal scale. Multivariable logistic regression models were built using stepwise-backward selection. A total of 8 variables were significant using the visual score as the dependent variable, while 11 variables were significant using the verbal score as the dependent variable (p < 0.05). Low owner conscientiousness was associated with an increased risk of feline overweight/obesity (OR = 1.23, 95% CI 1.10-1.38), whereas preference for delayed reward was associated with a decreased risk (OR = 0.84, 95% CI 0.75-0.96). Contrary to expectation, indulgent (OR = 0.76, 95% CI 0.53-0.91) and inconsistent (OR = 0.86, 95% CI 0.76-0.93) feeding practices appeared protective. Other significant variables (p < 0.05) included cat-related factors (age, gender, housing, source) and management-related factors (dry diet, supermarket dry diet, raw diet, stealing, hunting, and measuring food with a scoop). A third multivariable analysis was performed, using results from cats classified as overweight/obese using both scoring methods, compared with cats classified as a healthy weight using both scoring methods. A total of 10 variables were found to be significant (p < 0.05). There was significant overlap of results from all three analyses. The results of this study indicate that feline obesity is a complex problem, with many contributing risk factors. It is essential to recognize the importance of owner characteristics, and that the prevention of obesity in cats may require the development of a range of interventional strategies.

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

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/.

Personality Traits and Obesity

Objective: Previous studies investigating the association between body weight and personality traits have found mixed results. This paper uses a large data set and two different study designs (cross-sectional and longitudinal) to provide more consistent estimates of the effect of personality traits on obesity. Methods: The present study is based on data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) from the waves 2005 to 2013; GSOEP is a longitudinal survey of private households in Germany that has been carried out since 1984. Responses provided data about personality, measured using the BFI-S Questionnaire, data for self-rated body mass index BMI (to determine the obesity level), as well as information for potential confounders. Cross-sectional and longitudinal logistic regression models were used. Results: The cross-sectional study yielded statistically significant results for the association between the outcome variable and four personality factors neuroticism, extraversion, openness and agreeableness. After controlling for several potential confounders, the association between obesity and extraversion, openness as well as agreeableness remained; additionally, the personality factor consciousness reached statistical significance. In the longitudinal study, a statistically significant association was found only for two personality factors, namely extraversion and agreeableness. After adding the control variables, the FE-regression yielded an association only for agreeableness (negative). Gender differences were not significant. Discussion: The findings show that results of a cross-sectional study design differ from the outcome of the longitudinal study design. The latter stresses the association between excess weight and the personality factor agreeableness, contrasting with most outcomes of previous research.

Uncontrolled eating: a unifying heritable trait linked with obesity, overeating, personality and the brain

Many eating-related psychological constructs have been proposed to explain obesity and overeating. However, these constructs, including food addiction, disinhibition, hedonic hunger, emotional eating, binge eating and the like all have similar definitions, emphasizing loss of control over intake. As questionnaires measuring the constructs correlate strongly (r > 0.5) with each other, we propose that these constructs should be reconsidered to be part of a single broad phenotype: uncontrolled eating. Such an approach enables reviewing and meta-analysing evidence obtained with each individual questionnaire. Here, we describe robust associations between uncontrolled eating, body mass index (BMI), food intake, personality traits and brain systems. Reviewing cross-sectional and longitudinal data, we show that uncontrolled eating is phenotypically and genetically intertwined with BMI and food intake. We also review evidence on how three psychological constructs are linked with uncontrolled eating: lower cognitive control, higher negative affect and a curvilinear association with reward sensitivity. Uncontrolled eating mediates all three constructs' associations with BMI and food intake. Finally, we review and meta-analyse brain systems possibly subserving uncontrolled eating: namely, (i) the dopamine mesolimbic circuit associated with reward sensitivity, (ii) frontal cognitive networks sustaining dietary self-control and (iii) the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis, amygdala and hippocampus supporting stress reactivity. While there are limits to the explanatory and predictive power of the uncontrolled eating phenotype, we conclude that treating different eating-related constructs as a single concept, uncontrolled eating, enables drawing robust conclusions on the relationship between food intake and BMI, psychological variables and brain structure and function.

Exploring the relationship between the big five personality characteristics and dietary habits among students in a Ghanaian University

BACKGROUND

Adherence to good dietary practices has been linked to disease prevention and better quality of life yet, University students are known to have poor dietary intake and diet quality. For an effective behaviour modification in dietary habits, an understanding of the association between an individual's personality traits and dietary habits are of much significance. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between personality traits and dietary habits among University students in Ghana.

METHODS

A cross-sectional design involving 400 students was employed. Information on socio-demographic characteristics and Body Mass Index were obtained. The big 5 Personality traits (extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, openness and neuroticism) was assessed using a 50-item International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) by Goldberg. The three factor eating questionnaire (TFEQ) was used to obtain further information on dietary habits.

RESULTS

The majority of the students had high scores for conscientiousness. Except for neuroticism, all the personality traits had a significant association with at least one of the dietary habits explored. Extraversion was positively associated with neophagia (p = 0.028) and food interest (p = 0.008), conscientiousness was associated with variety (p = 0.045) and sugar moderation (p = 0.006), agreeableness was associated with neophagia (p = 0.005), skipping of meals (p = 0.007) and variety (p = 0.005) and openness associated with food interest (p = 0.009).

CONCLUSION

Personality traits showed associations with certain dietary habits but further studies are required to identify persons who are at risk of diet related diseases to inform the development of appropriate interventions.

Body dissatisfaction and its relation to Big Five personality factors and self-esteem in young adult college women in India

INTRODUCTION

Eating disorders are increasingly becoming common among men and women across the world. Body dissatisfaction is found to be one of the prominent risk factors for the development and maintenance of eating disorders. Research suggests that the internalization of culturally unattainable ideals is in fact mediated by self-esteem and personality factors such as high neuroticism, perfectionism, and impulsiveness. Studies on body image concerns in the cultural context of the Indian population are limited. We aimed to study the prevalence of body image dissatisfaction and its association with self-esteem and personality traits among young Indian women.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Using a cross-sectional design we studied on 555 female college students of North India. Data was collected using self-reported questionnaires: Sociodemographic pro forma, Body Shape Questionnaire (-8C), Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale, and Mini-International Personality Item Pool.

RESULTS

The mean age of the participants in the study was 22.24 years (±2.75). Twenty-seven percent of the participants had moderate-to-severe body concern. Body shape dissatisfaction significantly correlated with higher body mass index (BMI) (rs = 0.12, P = 0.003) and lower self-esteem (rs = -0.22, P < 0.001). Among the personality traits, only neuroticism (beta = 0.35, P = 0.01) and conscientiousness (beta = 0.29, P = 0.031) significantly predicted body shape dissatisfaction.

CONCLUSION

A significant percentage of young women in this study had a negative body image associated with higher BMI, lower self-esteem, high neuroticism, and high conscientiousness. Thus, consideration of individual variations in personality traits and self-esteem is important understanding body image concerns. This can help in selection of better interventions in the treatment of body image dissatisfaction.