Diet and Personality

Intiful et al. (2019) gathered 400 University students in Ghana to study the association between their dietary habits [examined using the three factor eating questionnaire (TFEQ)] with personality traits [assessed using a 50-item International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) by Goldberg]. The students were evaluated on the big 5 personality traits (extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, openness, and neuroticism) while their socio-demographic data and Body Mass Index were also collected. Most students scored high for conscientiousness, and each personality trait, apart from neuroticism, was significantly associated with at least one of the dietary habits explored: conscientiousness with variety (p = 0.045) and sugar moderation (p = 0.006); agreeableness with with neophagia (p = 0.005), skipping of meals (p = 0.007), and variety (p = 0.005); and openness with food interest (p = 0.009). Furthermore, extraversion was positively associated with neophagia (p = 0.028) and food interest (p = 0.008). While this study has displayed several links between personality traits and dietary habits, additional research would be required to assist the development of novel interventions that are capable of identifying individuals at risk of diet related diseases.