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Food and nutrient intakes by temperament traits: findings in the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study
Previous studies have connected the temperament trait with risk factors for chronic disease, but this 2018 study by Perälä and her team aim to examine the cross-sectional associations between temperament and diet. Firstly, information on the 1668 adults (aged 56-70, male and female) who took part in the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study were taken. Dietary consumption was determined by a validated 128-item food frequency questionnaire, while temperament was measured using the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire. The temperament trait was broken down by the following: novelty seeking (NS); harm avoidance (HA); reward dependence (RD); and persistence (P). Greater HA related to poorer diet quality (less vegetables, fruits, fish and a number of vitamins in the diet), whereas RD was linked to higher consumption of vegetables and vitamin E, and lower alcohol intake. The temperament trait NS was significantly connected to diets consisting of more fish, fat, alcohol, and less cereals, carbohydrates and milk products. P was not associated with any of the food groups or nutrients in this study. Perälä et al. (2018) was able to discover associations between temperament traits and diet, particularly noting the correlations between greater harm avoidance with poorer diet quality, and higher reward dependence with healthier diets. [NPID: personality, temperament, chronic disease, novelty, harm avoidance, reward dependence, reward, diet quality, vitamin E, alcohol]
Year: 2018
