Study Shows Your Personality Does Affect Your Weight

How spontaneous or neurotic you are could dictate how much you weigh according to research published in the Journal of Psychology and Social Psychology.  I’m not surprised.  If you knew your personality type based on the MBTI®, you would appreciate the results of the study and how they apply to you.  Take the free personality quiz on this site to find out what your type is.

The study found that impulse buyers tend to be impulse eaters.  Intuitively, it just makes sense.  They are people who live in the moment, see something and have to have it right now.  In the study, three researchers from the Department of Health and Human Services followed nearly 2,000 subjects over a 50-year life span.  Those are scored highest on a scale of impulsivity were likely to be about 24 pounds heavier than those on the lower end of the scale.

According to the Keirsey Temperament (another way to look at type), those individuals with a combination of Sensing and Perceiving in their type (based on the MBTI) are more into instant gratification than other types.  Had the study done an MBTI assessment on the participants, the impulsive eaters probably had “S” and “P” in their type name.  Had they known more about their type, they would also know how to use the strengths of their type to break into that path of destruction.

So who do you think tended to be thinner?  Those who scored highest on the conscientiousness scale tended to have lower BMIs (body mass index).  This would equate to those MBTI personality types with “J” or Judging in their name, as well as “I” or Introvert.  Enough studies have been done showing that people who keep food diaries have an easier time sticking to a plan.  Judgers are inclined to be organized and task-oriented, qualities that assist in being conscientious in keeping a diary.  Introverts show their ability to be conscientious by being able to focus on one particular task at a time.

If you really want to lose weight, then you really need to know what your personality type is.  With that information, you can use the strengths of your type to lose weight effectively.  So go take the free personality quiz for your “Personality Way to Weight Loss”.