Personality traits and eating behavior in the obese: Poor self-control in emotional and external eating but personality assets in restrained eating

• Published in: Eating behaviors : an international journal Vol. 9; no. 3; pp. 285 - 293
• Main Authors: Elfhag, Kristina, Morey, Lesley C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01-08-2008; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Aged; Biological and medical sciences; Demography; Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire; Eating behavior; Eating behavior disorders; Emotions; Feeding Behavior - psychology; Female; Humans; Internal-External Control; Linear Models; Male; Medical sciences; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Metabolic diseases; Middle Aged; Miscellaneous; NEO PI-R; Obesity; Obesity - psychology; Personality; Personality Tests; Psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Sex Factors; Obesity; Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire; Personality; NEO PI-R; Psychology; Eating behavior; Human; Affect affectivity; Personality test; Feeding behavior; Nutrition disorder; Psychometrics; Emotion emotionality; Feeding; NEO Personality Inventory Costa McCrae; Big Five personality model; Self control; Restricted diet; Nutritional status
• ISSN: 1471-0153; 1873-7358
• DOI: 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2007.10.003

Personality traits can give a fuller understanding for eating behaviors in obesity. The objective was to describe eating behavior (Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire) in terms of the Big Five personality traits (NEO Personality Inventory-Revised) in obesity patients (
n
=
442). Emotional eating was strongly positively associated to Neuroticism, in particular impulsiveness and depression, and further linked to lower Conscientiousness mainly seen in lower self-discipline, and lower Extraversion. External eating was likewise mainly associated to the facets impulsiveness and lower self-discipline. Restrained eating was on the other hand related to higher Conscientiousness, Extraversion and Openness, and lower Neuroticism. These results imply that poor self-control seen in impulsiveness and lower self-discipline was most important for eating due to negative emotions as well as in response to external food stimuli, suggesting that the inhibition of eating and difficulties to govern ones behavior are major aspects of these eating behaviors. Attempts to control food intake and body weight seen in restrained eating were associated with more character strengths and ambitions, and also a more outgoing personality style with more stable emotions.