Association of Personality (NEO-Five Factor Inventory) with Eating Behaviors and Physical Activity Levels in Obese Subjects in the Saku Control Obesity Program (SCOP)

Abstract

BACKGROUND:Obesity is one of the most common risks for lifestyle-related diseases, but the personality of individuals in relation to obesity has not been well studied. We investigated the association of personality traits with physical activity levels and eating behaviors in obese subjects. METHOD: The subjects were 116 males and 119 females in the Saku Control Obesity Program SCOP study. The influence of personality on obesity was analyzed using a questionnaire from the NEO-FFI. We analyzed the association of physical activity level (measured with an accelerometer) and eating behavior (assessed by a questionnaire) among the three classes (low, average, high) of scores within five personality domains. RESULTS: Scores in the Neuroticism and Agreeableness domains of females were significantly higher than those of males. There were significant differences among the three classes of Neuroticism and Agreeableness with regard to physical activity levels. Eating behavior was associated with the Neuroticism and Openness domains. The scales of bad eating behavior related to obesity were positively correlated with scores in the Neuroticism domain in both males and females. In males the scale of all categories of eating behavior increased as scores in the Openness domain rose; in females the scale of "perception of constitution and weight" decreased as Openness scores rose. CONCLUSION: Personality determined by NEO-FFI was related to physical activity level and eating behavior. In particular, the Neuroticism domain had great effects on these parameters.

Accelerometer-measured and self-reported physical activity in relation to extraversion and neuroticism: a cross-sectional analysis of two studies

“…In line with the literature [12][13][14], extraversion had a positive association with self-reported physical activity among middle-aged women. Furthermore, as in previous studies among college women [19], obese middle-aged adults [18] and older adults [21], extraversion was not associated with accelerometer-measured physical activity. It is possible that people high in extraversion tend to give socially desirable responses to self-reports [19].…”

“…This is important, especially among older adults whose daily activity is mainly light intensity [17]. Accelerometer studies have not reported consistent associations with personality traits [18][19][20][21][22]. This may be due to relatively small sample sizes and the use of convenience samples of active older adults (n = 69) [20], obese middle-aged men and women (n = 235) [18], college women (n = 294) [19] and young men and women (n = 64) [22].…”

Association of eating behaviours with diurnal preference and rotating shift work in Japanese female nurses: a cross-sectional study

“…Among them, 56 were excluded from the analysis because of missing data (age (n=2), current work schedules (n=6), residential status (n=1), marital status (n=2), years of experience as a rotating shift worker (n=23), smoking status (n=2), alcohol status (n=4), number of night shifts during the previous month (n=6) and the questionnaire about diurnal preference (n=13)). Since the scoring method for the questionnaire about obesity-related eating behaviour was different for men and women,23 24 we decided to exclude the small data from male nurses (n=20). As a result, 162 female nurses (39-day workers and 123 shift workers) were analysed (figure 1).…”

Personality and actigraphy-measured physical activity in older adults.

“…Such measures also have no method overlap with personality assessment. The few studies that have used objective measures of PA, however, have relied on select and younger populations to assess the relation between personality and PA. Ohmori et al (2007) examined the link between PA measured by accelerometers in Japanese middle-aged individuals who were part of a behavioral intervention for obesity and found that females who were low in Neuroticism had lower step counts and PA levels. Wilson et al (2015) also assessed PA using accelerometers in young women.…”