Psychopathological factors and personality dimensions on dysfunctional eating behaviors in a sample of individuals with obesity (original) (raw)

Personality features of obese women in relation to binge eating and night eating

Psychiatry Research, 2013

Personality traits can affect eating behaviors, the development of obesity, and obesity treatment failure. We investigated the personality characteristics and their relation with disordered eating in 586 obese women consecutively seeking treatment at eight Italian medical centers (age, 47.7 79.8 years) and 185 age-matched, normal weight women without symptoms of eating disorders (Eating Attitude Test o 20). The assessment included anthropometry, the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), the Binge Eating Scale (BES) and the Night Eating Questionnaire (NEQ). Logistic regression analyses were carried out in different models with BES score Z 27 and NEQ Z 30 as dependent variables and TCI scores as independent factors. Personality traits of obese individuals included significantly lower selfdirectedness and cooperativeness on TCI. BES and NEQ scores were higher in obese women, and values above the defined cutoffs were present in 77 and 18 cases (14 with high BES), respectively. After controlling for age and BMI, high BES values were associated with high novelty seeking and harm avoidance and low self-directedness, the last two scales being also associated with high NEQ. We conclude that personality traits differ between obese patients seeking treatment and controls, and the presence of disordered eating is associated with specific personality characteristics.

Psychopathology in subgroups of obese women with and without binge eating disorder

Comprehensive Psychiatry, 1994

The examination of psychopathology in subgroups of obese patients is a new area of research in psychiatry. This project studied rates and types of psychopathology among obese subjects meeting the proposed DSM-IV criteria of binge eating disorder (BED) and obese subjects without BED. One hundred obese women with a mean age of 39.2 years and a mean body mass index (BMI) of 35.9 kg/m2 were evaluated using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R (SCID-Modified Version) and a self-rating personality inventory, Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-Revised (PDQ-R), before entering a treatment study for weight reduction. Those subjects meeting proposed DSM-IV criteria for BED had significantly higher lifetime rates for an axis I diagnosis compared with those that did not meet criteria for BED. Subjects with BED showed LTHOUGH BINGE EATING in the obese

Personality and eating behaviors: a case-control study of binge eating disorder

The International journal of eating disorders, 2008

Questions have been raised about the validity of binge eating disorder (BED) as psycho-pathologically distinct from other forms of overeating. Our purpose was to ascertain whether BED individuals differed in important ways from nonbinging obese adults. BED adults were recruited from the community as were weight-matched (obese) and normal-weight control (NWC) groups. All groups were equivalent for age and gender distribution, and were assessed on several personality traits and eating behaviors. BED individuals and obese controls did not differ on the personality traits. Both were more reward sensitive, and had greater anxiousness, impulsivity, and addictive personality traits than NWC. However, BED individuals reported significantly greater hedonic eating compared with the obese, who had higher levels than NWC. Our findings provided no evidence of a psychological identity unique to obese adults with BED although their eating behaviors are markedly hedonically driven-i.e., more respon...

Temperament and character in obese women with and without binge eating disorder

Comprehensive Psychiatry, 2002

Obesity is a serious disorder and its treatment involves dietitians, psychologists, and psychiatrists, often with a poor outcome. The role of psychiatric issues in obesity is equivocal, and so is the fact whether emotional and behavioral disturbances are causes or consequences of an individual's overweight condition. We performed a study that included 120 obese women (59 with binge eating disorder [BED] and 61 with non-BED) according to specific selection criteria, and compared to 80 healthy controls. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated for all patients and they were assessed with the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). Despite the fact that obese patients with BED and without BED display a similar person-ality profile, those with BED show lower scores in Self-Directedness (SD). Both groups of obese patients differ from nonobese controls in Novelty Seeking (NS), Harm Avoidance (HA), Cooperativeness (C), and SD. SD seems to be the strongest predictor for the development of BED. The idea that two distinct groups of obese patients exist is supported. Moreover, as regards personality, a lower SD and a higher risk of Personality Disorders were found in obese BED patients. Different severities of overweight do not seem to relate to a specific personality susceptibility. Copyright 2002, Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.

Eating behavior and personality: an exploratory analysis

Personality and Individual Differences, 1988

An exploratory study on a university student sample (N = 67) shows that scores on Restraint, Disinhibition and Hunger of the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ) of Stunkard and Messick (1985) are not associated with EPQ and MMPI personality dimensions. However, Restraint and EPQ Psychoticism load on the same Varimax-rotated factor and low predictability of TFEQ factor scores was found for some MMPI scales. Restraint and Disinhibition appeared significantly intercorrelated in the whole sample and in the sex-based subsamples. It is suggested that TFEQ scores are complementary to personality tests in the evaluation of eating behavior disorders.

Personality characteristics in obesity and relationship with successful weight loss

International journal of obesity (2005), 2007

Personality influences lifestyle behaviors. Therefore, certain personality traits could contribute to obesity and the response to behaviorally based weight loss therapy. The aims of this study were to test the hypothesis that personality characteristics differ between lean and obese persons in the community, obese persons in the community and obese persons seeking weight loss therapy by enrolling in a comprehensive weight loss program, and in obese persons who were successful and unsuccessful in achieving behavioral therapy-induced weight loss. The Temperament and Character Inventory was administered to 264 lean (body mass index (BMI) <25 kg/m(2)) and 56 obese (BMI> or =35 kg/m(2)) subjects from the St Louis community and 183 obese patients (BMI=44+/-10 kg/m(2)) enrolled in the Washington University Weight Management Program (WUWMP), which involved weekly group behavioral therapy and diet education sessions for 22 weeks. Compared with lean subjects, obese subjects in the commu...

Personality dimensions in bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and obesity

Comprehensive Psychiatry, 2010

Objective-The purpose of this investigation was to examine differences in personality dimensions among individuals with bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, non-binge eating obesity and a normal weight comparison group as well as to determine the extent to which these differences were independent of self-reported depressive symptoms.

Psychopathology, psychosocial factors and obesity

Rivista di psichiatria

The aims of this study were to evaluate the association between obesity and socio-demographic and psychopathological variables in a clinical sample of patients referred to a center for the diagnosis and treatment of obesity, compared with a homogeneous sample of normal-weight subjects. In the context of a research project regarding obesity and psychopathology, a multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between obesity and the demographic and clinical variables, on the basis of the dataset of a consecutive sample of 293 obese patients (48 males, 245 females, mean age: 45.41±13.55, mean body mass index [BMI] 35.6±6.2)compared with a control group of 293 non-obese subjects (48 males, 245 females, mean age 45.66±13.86, mean BMI 21.8±2.06). All subjects were assessed by structured clinical interview, the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnosis for axis I DSM-IV (SCID-I) and for axis II DSM-IV(SCID-II). Multivariate statistical analysis showed that...

Personality traits in overweight and obese women: Associations with BMI and eating behaviors

Eating Behaviors, 2008

This study aimed at assessing the extent to which personality traits are related to BMI and eating behaviors in overweight and obese women (N = 154; mean body mass index (BMI) of 30.5 ± 3.0 kg/m 2 ). The NEO Five-Factor Inventory was used to capture the five dimensions of personality (neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness and conscientiousness). Anthropometric measurements (weight, height and BMI) were performed and eating behaviors (cognitive dietary restraint, disinhibition and susceptibility to hunger) were measured by the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire. Regressional analyses showed that only conscientiousness was positively related to BMI. A higher level of neuroticism was identified as a significant predictor of higher scores for cognitive dietary restraint, disinhibition and susceptibility to hunger. Conscientiousness was also found to be a positive determinant of cognitive dietary restraint and a higher level of agreeableness predicted a lower score of susceptibility to hunger. Results also underline the presence of other psychological factors, i.e. dysphoria and body esteem, involved in the associations between personality traits and some eating behaviours. These findings suggest that particular dimensions of personality may contribute, either directly or through their association with other psychological factors, to a better understanding of weight and eating behaviors in overweight and obese women.