Personality traits predict dietary habits in middle-to-older adults
Sara J Weston, Grant W Edmonds, Patrick L Hill
*Psychology, Health & Medicine*
Abstract
Personality traits are consistently associated with health behaviors, but little research has examined the role of personality on eating habits among middle-to-older adults. The current study (n = 665) examined the associations between traits and dietary habits and whether healthy eating predicted health at age 60, with the Hawaii Personality and Health Cohort. Eating healthy foods was associated with higher agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness, and predicted better self-rated health and lower BMI. Eating unhealthy foods was associated with lower agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness, and predicted lower self-rated health. Results were not moderated by SES.
Why we asked
Personality traits are linked to weight, diabetes risk, and eating disorders, so we expected them to be linked to what people eat. Surprisingly little research had asked about specific foods in middle-aged and older adults. We also wanted to know whether the links differ by socioeconomic status. Money changes which foods a person can buy, and it could make personality matter more or less.
What we did
We used 665 participants from the Hawaii Personality and Health Cohort. In 1999 they reported how often they ate 24 foods, such as vegetables, fish, fried foods, and rice. A factor analysis sorted those foods into two groups, which we labeled healthy foods and unhealthy foods. Participants also completed a Big Five personality questionnaire in 2008. Health was measured as self-rated health and diabetes diagnosis in 2015, and body mass index at a clinic visit around age 50. Everything was correlational, and we controlled for age and gender.
What we found
Higher agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness, and lower neuroticism, were each associated with eating more healthy foods and fewer unhealthy foods. These correlations were small (about .1 to .2). Eating more healthy foods was associated with better self-rated health (r = .24), lower body mass index (r = −.21), and lower likelihood of a diabetes diagnosis (r = −.10). In other words, the traits, the diet, and the health measures line up in the way one would expect, modestly.
Socioeconomic status did not change these associations, with one exception: neuroticism was more strongly related to unhealthy eating at higher status. We ran 16 such tests, and the result did not hold when we used income or education alone, so we treat it as chance.
What it means
Personality and diet are associated across income and education levels in this sample. Self-reported food frequencies from one Hawaiian cohort limit how far this generalizes. We recommend replicating the work with other ways of measuring food intake.
The link above is to the free author manuscript on PubMed Central.