Selected personality traits and frequency of taking some healthy

Transkrypt

● JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, NURSING AND MEDICAL RESCUE ● No.3/2016 ●
● JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, NURSING AND MEDICAL RESCUE ● No. 3/2016 (42-48)
Selected personality traits and frequency of
taking some healthy eating behaviours in
young women
(Wybrane cechy osobowości a częstość podejmowania wybranych
prozdrowotnych zachowań żywieniowych u młodych kobiet)
M Jaworski 1,2,A,D,F, H Rozenek1,B,C,E
Abstract – Introduction. Eating habits are an important determinant of overall health. Improper diet can contribute to the development of diet-related diseases, including obesity. Recognition of
determinants of these behaviours is therefore a key research area
of food science and health psychology. The aim of the project
was to analyse the relationship between personality profile and
healthy eating habits in young women (i.e. consumption of vegetables, fruits, whole-grain bread, and reducing consumption of
foods high in fat, sugar, and containing preservatives and salt).
Materials and Methods. There were two research tools used in the
study. To measure traits of the personality profile, the study used
NEO-FFI Personality Inventory by Costa and McCrae. To assess
eating behaviours, the scale of healthy eating habits from
Juczyński’s Behavioral Health Inventory (BHI) was used. The
study included 55 young women aged 18 to 23 years. Statistical
analysis was performed with the use of statistical package Statistica 9.0 StatSoft.
Results. The results of the study showed a significant relationship
of three personality traits according to Big Five theory with the
frequency of healthy eating behaviours. This concerns mainly
the level of extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.
Additionally, conscientiousness and agreeableness is connected
with the frequency of weight control.
Conclusions. Personality traits are related to behaviours and thus
may indirectly affect one’s health. Presented results may have
practical medical implications in weight loss therapy and information purpose to increase public awareness in terms of primary
prevention.
Key words - personality, extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness to experience, eating behaviour.
Streszczenie – Wstęp. Zachowania żywieniowe stanowią bardzo
ważny
czynnik
warunkujący
ogólny
stan
zdrowia.
Nieprawidłowy sposób odżywiania się może przyczyniać się do
rozwoju chorób dietozależnych, w tym rozwoju otyłości. W
związku z tym identyfikacja czynników determinujących te
zachowania stanowi kluczowy obszar badań nauk o żywieniu i
psychologii zdrowia. Celem projektu była analiza związku
między profilem osobowości, a podejmowaniem wybranych
prozdrowotnych zachowań żywieniowych u młodych kobiet (tj.
konsumpcji warzyw, owoców i pieczywa pełnoziarnistego oraz
ograniczania spożycia produktów bogatych w tłuszcz, cukier, a
także zawierających konserwanty i sól).
Materiał i metody. W badaniu zastosowano dwa narzędzia
badawcze. Do pomiaru profilu cech osobowości wykorzystano
Inwentarz Osobowości NEO-FFI autorstwa Costy i McCrae. Do
oceny zachowań żywieniowych zastosowano skalę prawidłowych
nawyków żywieniowych z Inwentarza Zachowań Zdrowotnych
(IZZ) Juczyńskiego. W badaniu uczestniczyło 55 młodych kobiet
w wieku od 18 do 23 lat. Obliczenia statystyczne wykonano przy
zastosowaniu pakietu statystycznego Statistica 9.0 firmy StatSoft.
Wyniki. Wyniki przeprowadzonych badań wykazały istotny
związek trzech cech osobowości w ujęciu modelu Wielkiej Piątki
z częstością podejmowania prozdrowotnych zachowań
żywieniowych. Głównie dotyczy to poziomu ekstrawersji,
ugodowości oraz sumienności. Dodatkowo sumienność i
ugodowość wykazuje związek z częstością kontrolowania masy
ciała.
Wnioski. Cechy osobowości mają związek z zachowaniami
żywieniowymi i dlatego pośrednio mogą wpływać na stan
zdrowia jednostki. Zaprezentowane zależności mogą mieć
praktyczne implikacje medyczne w monitorowaniu postępów
terapii odchudzających oraz informacyjne w celu zwiększenia
świadomości społecznej w profilaktyce pierwszego stopnia.
Słowa kluczowe - osobowość, ekstrawersja, sumienność, ugodowość, neurotyczność, otwartość na doświadczenie, zachowania
żywieniowe.
Author Affiliations:
1. Department of Medical Psychology, Medical University
of Warsaw
2. Warsaw School of Tourism and Hospitality, Vistula
Group of Universities
42
Authors’ contributions to the article:
A. The idea and the planning of the study
B. Gathering and listing data
C. The data analysis and interpretation
D. Writing the article
E. Critical review of the article
F. Final approval of the article
Correspondence to:
PhD Mariusz Jaworski, Department of Medical Psychology,
Medical University of Warsaw, Żwirki i Wigury 81a Str., PL-02091 Warsaw,Poland, e-mail: [email protected];
Accepted for publication: July 2, 2016.
I. INTRODUCTION
verall health is determined by numerous factors, including genetic, environmental, and behavioural ones.
Professional literature deals extensively with health
attitudes, their behavioural component in particular, with
health behaviour being in the centre of attention. The paper
discusses mainly one category of eating behaviours, that is
healthy eating behaviours [1]. Eating behaviours are defined as an individual activities in the field of food consumption and include 1) choosing groceries; 2) organization of food shopping; 3) ways of storing food; and 4)
planning and preparation of meals [2].
A proper diet is a crucial determinant of overall health,
whereas any dietary irregularities can contribute to numerous diet related diseases and disorders [3-9]. Healthy eating behaviours are crucial, all the more so because epidemiological studies on health of people in Poland reveal
numerous dietary irregularities and higher incidence of diet
related diseases [11, 12].
Due to the fact that eating behaviours comprise a very
complex process of choosing and consuming food, there
are numerous, both direct and indirect, factors that affect
them [13]. A human personality can be one of them. The
literature of the subject focuses on the importance of
strengthening some personality traits for the purpose of
maintaining or restoring good health, mainly through
health beneficial behaviours [2].
It should be noted that the relationship between personality profile and healthy behaviours is unclear, although
there are studies which confirm its presence [1, 14-16].
Based on the review of the literature, it transpires that the
O
number of scientific publications discussing and analysing
the relation between personality profile and healthy eating
behaviours is very scarce.
The aim of the project was to analyse relationship between personality profile and healthy eating habits, e.g.
consumption of vegetables, fruits, and whole-grain bread,
as well as reducing foods high in fat, sugar, preservatives,
and salt. The following research questions were posed in
relation to the main objective of the study:
1: Which personality traits are related to frequency of caring about a healthy diet in young women?
2: Which personality traits are related to the frequency of
vegetable and fruit consumption in young women?
3: Which personality traits are related to eating habits of
reducing foods rich in fat and sugar in young women?
avoiding products containing preservatives by young
women?
avoiding salt and very salty products by young women?
6: Which personality traits are related to whole-grain bread
consumption by young women?
7: Which personality traits are related to body weight control in young women?
II. MATERIALS AND METHODS
The study included 55 young women aged between 18 and
23 years. The median age of the participants was 19.3
(SD=0.96). Inclusion criteria were as follows:
1) Female sex. Based on review of the literature,
women pay attention to eating behaviours and
control their weight more often than men.
2) Age between 18 and 25. The criterion was adopted
in line with Erikson’s theory of psychosocial
development, according to which this is the age at
which people show more well-thought and mature
behaviours and personality is almost fully shaped.
3) Students of nutrition-related fields of study.
All participants of the study (n=55) were students
of dietetics.
Two research tools were used in the study. To measure
personality profile, the study applied NEO-FFI personality
inventory by Costa and McCrae in the Polish version, taking into consideration both age and sex.
NEO-FFI is a tool developed on the basis of the Big
Five Model. The model measures the degree of five personality descriptors: neuroticism, extraversion, openness to
experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Accord-
43
Table 1. Group of participants by their personality traits
Personality trait under analysis
Parameter
Neuroticism
M
7.64
7.84
6.93
7.80
8.45
SD
1.77
1.86
1.71
1.96
1.75
Min.
3
3
2
2
4
Max.
10
10
10
10
10
Extra- Openness to Agreeableversion experience
ness
Conscientiousness
M-median, SD- standard deviation, Min- minimal value, Max- maximum
value
Average study results pertaining to participants’ care for
a proper diet fell in the range between average and high
frequency (M=3,76±0,90). One participant (1.4%) admit-
1.4
7
4.2
7
1.4
Rarely
0
14.1
15.5
11.3
2.8
Moderately
often
14.1
19.7
23.9
9.9
9.9
Often
33.8
25.4
22.5
29.6
22.5
Almost
always
28.2
11.3
11.3
19.7
40.8
Whole-grain
bread
Hardly ever
Salty foods
Food containing
preservatives
In the initial phase of statistical analysis the group of
participants was described in terms of their personality
traits. Openness to experience ranged between the moderate and high level (M= 6.93±1.71), whereas the remaining
personality traits under analysis: neurotism, extraversion,
agreeableness and conscientiousness, were very high
(M=8.45±1.75). (Table1).
Table 2. Frequency [%] of taking in selected eating
behaviours based on the participants’ responses
Fat and sugar
III. RESULTS
ted she almost never cared about eating well, whereas
15.5% (n=11) claimed to do this almost always. Three participants (4.2%) stated they rarely took in the eating behaviours under study, while a significant percentage of them
admitted to taking them often (35.2%) or occasionally
(21.1%) (Table 2).
Vegetable and
fruit
consumption
ing to Costa and McCrae these factors are largely hereditary and relatively stable [17].
To measure the frequency of taking selected eating behaviours, the study used Health Behaviour Inventory (HBI)
by Juczyński, a self-description tool. To ensure methodological appropriateness, participants completed the whole
inventory, which contains 24 statements describing various
behaviours related to health. Given the aim of the paper,
the study only analysed items included on the scale of
healthy eating habits. Due to the fact that the authors were
interested in the relation between particular items and personality traits, no average result on the scale was measured
[14].
Statistical calculations were made with the use of Statistica 9.0 software by StatSoft. Statistical significance was
set at p≤0.05. Due to the fact that empirical data for the
statistical analysis was presented on the measurement
scale, Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was used to
measure the relationship between variables.
The study also analysed the frequency with which vegetables and fruits are consumed by young women. The participants admitted they frequently reached for this kind of
food (M=4.13±0.84), although one of them (1.4%) stated
she almost never consumed vegetables or fruits. About
28.2 % of the women (n=20) responded they ate them almost always, whereas 33.8% (n=24) – often (Table 2).
Study participants took eating behaviours related to cutting down on foods high in fat and sugar with average frequency (M=3.25±1.19). Five respondents (7.0%) hardly
ever reduced consumption of such products in their diet,
whereas 11.3% (n=8) did it almost always. A large proportion of the respondents (25.4%) admitted reducing fat and
sugar in the diet frequently, but 14.1% of them (n=10)
adopted such practices rarely (Table 2).
Interesting results were observed in the case of eating
behaviours aiming to reduce consumption of foods containing preservatives. This practice was adopted by the
participants with average frequency (M=3.27±1.11). Three
women (4.2%) almost never reduced consumption of such
products, whereas 11.3% (n=8) said they almost always
did. A large proportion of the respondents stated they often
(22.5%) or moderately often (23.9%) reduced consumption
of preservatives, however 15.5% of them (n=11) adopted
such practices rarely (Table 2).
44
7% of the participants (n=5) almost never avoided salt
or very salty food. In contrast, 19.7% (n=14) almost totally
eliminated this condiment from their diets. A large proportion of them (29.6%) said they often reduced salt intake in
diet, whereas 11.3% (n=8) did it rarely. The average frequency with which women participating in the study
adopted such a practice ranged between moderate and high
(M=3.56±1.27). (Table 2).
Participants of the study admitted to consuming wholegrain bread often or very often (M=4.27±0.95). Only one
woman (1.4%) admitted she did not eat such
a type of bread. 40.8% (n=29) of participants stated they
ate such bread very often, while 22.9% (n=16) did it often.
Only 2.8% (n=2) of the young women asked in the study
ate such bread rarely (Table 2).
Three respondents (4.2%) stated they hardly ever controlled their body weight, whereas 15.5% (n=11) did this
almost always. A large proportion of the respondents said
they often (21.2%) or moderately often (22.5%) controlled
their body mass (Table 3).
In the course of the study no relation was observed between personality traits and the frequency of vegetable and
fruit consumption (Table 5). The frequency of eating
whole-grain bread was positively correlated with the level
of extraversion (rho=0.234; p<0.05). However, no such
correlation was observed in the case of remaining personality traits subject to analysis: neuroticism, openness to
experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness (Table
5).
Table 3. Frequency [%] of body weight control based on
the participants’ responses
rho- Spearman’s correlation coefficient, p – level of statistical
significance
22.5
21.1
15.5
Correlational research did not show a statistically
significant relation between personality traits according to
the Big Five Model and caring for a proper diet (Table 4).
Table 4. Relations between personality traits and the
frequency of taking in behaviours oriented towards a
proper diet in young women
Neuroticism
Care for a
healthy
diet
rho
p
-0.14
0.16
Extraversion
Openness to
experience
Agreeableness
Conscientious
tiousness
Conscientious
tiousness
rho
-0.14
0.19
0.07
-0.06
0.14
p
0.16
0.08
0.30
0.32
0.16
The correlation analysis of the frequency with which the
consumption of selected groups of food was reduced did
not show any statistically significant relations between
personality traits and avoidance of foods high in fat and
sugar (Table 6).
Table 6. Relations between personality traits and the frequency of avoiding consumption of fat, sugar, preservatives, and very salty foods in young women
Reducing consumption of products containing:
Fat and
sugar
rho
P
rho
0.07
-0.06
0.14
0.08
0.30
0.32
0.16
significance
-0.03
0.04
0.08
-0.14
0.06
0.37
0.27
0.16
0.33
0.15
0.12
-0.11
-0.24
0.14
0.19
0.21
0.04
-0.01
0.06
-0.30
-0.09
0.49
0.33
0.01
0.25
0.42
0.20
preservatives
P
0.19
Conscientiousness
14.1
Agreeableness
Agreeableness
Almost
always
Openness to
experience
Openness to
experience
Ofte
n
Extraversion
Extraversion
4.2
Rarely
Moderatel
y often
Care for a
healthy
diet
Neuroticism
Neuroticism
Body
mass
contro
l
Hardl
y ever
Table 5. Relations between personality traits and the
frequency of vegetable, fruit, and whole-grain bread
consumption in young women
Large
amounts of
salt
rho
P
0.07
0.15
0.13
45
significance
Cutting down on foods containing preservatives was
negatively correlated with the level of conscientiousness
among the respondents (rho=-0.242; p<0.05), whereas the
level of neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience,
and agreeableness did not show any significant relations to
the frequency of avoidance of such products (Table 4).
Reduction of salt and salty food consumption was
negatively correlated with the degree of agreeableness. No
significant correlation was observed however between
avoidance of salty foods and such personality traits as
neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, and
conscientiousness (Table 6).
The application of Spearman’s correlation coefficient
enabled verification of the question about the relation
between personality traits and control of the body weight
increase. Body mass control was negatively correlated with
the level of agreeableness (rho= - 0.225;p<0.05) and
conscientiousness (rho= - 0.249; p<0.05). In the case of
neuroticism, extraversion, and openness to experience, no
statistically significant correlations were observed (Table
7).
Extraversion
Openness to
experience
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
Body
mass
control
Neuroticism
Table 7. Relations between personality traits and body
mass control
rho
-0.02
0.06
-0.16
-0.23
-0.25
p
0.46
0.34
0.12
0.04
0.03
Rho – Spearman’s correlation coefficient, p – level of statistical
significance
IV. DISCUSSION
It should be noted that the paper has the groundbreaking nature in the field of food sciences, which results
from the fact that the professional literature devoted to
personality traits affecting eating habits is very scarce.
Most studies on dietary irregularities pertain to eating disorders. Due to their complex aetiology, making generalisations about personal characteristics of the people with such
disorders and considering them as personality predispositions to bad eating habits entail numerous methodological
errors and has no methodological justification.
Results of the studies revealed significant relation between three personality traits within the Big Five model,
and the frequency of taking in healthy eating behaviours.
This pertains mainly to levels of extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.
The results did not show any relations between neuroticism and fruit, vegetables, or whole-grain bread consumption. Nor was it proved that this trait was related to avoiding foods containing fat, sugar, preservatives, or very salty
products. It seems interesting, especially in the light of
scientific reports analysing personality profiles of women
with eating disorders (e.g. anorexia, bulimia) which have
shown that this trait is very strong among such a group
women [18]. A high degree of neuroticism is related to
highly intensified fear, irritability, hostility, impulsiveness,
emotional instability, and excessive concentration on oneself [17]. Interestingly enough, the women taking part in
the study were also highly neurotic, but their eating behaviours were not significantly connected to neuroticism. This
may indicate that neuroticism is related to intensified
pathological traits common for anorexia nervosa or bulimia
nervosa, but does not affect eating behaviours directly. It
should be noted, however, that there are scientific reports
which indicate negative correlation between neuroticism
and healthy diet [19]. This, nevertheless, requires further
verification studies.
The level of extraversion was positively correlated only
with the frequency of whole-grain bread consumption. The
higher level of extraversion, the more often did respondents admit to whole-grain bread consumption. Within the
Big Five Model by Costa and McCrea, extraversion is
characterised by the number and quality of social interactions, energy, and the ability to feel positive emotions [23].
According to Narojek [20], extraversion may be a personality dimension which significantly contributes to healthy
eating habits. This results from the fact that extroverts
more often eat at the fixed time of the day, whereas introverts reach for the food when they feel hungry. Moreover,
unlike introverts, extraverts are more susceptible to external than internal stimuli and need more varied food [13].
Results of some studies on the personality traits and their
influence on eating habits indicate that emotional stability
(low degree of neuroticism) and extraversion may determine the tendency to choose the food considered as desirable for good health. Consequently, persons with such traits
are more likely to reach for low-fat and protein-rich products and low in sodium [21]. Perhaps higher neuroticism
and extraversion should be studied in correlation with each
other, as confirmed by the authors’ own research and scientific reports mentioned above.
46
The study discussed in the paper shows negative correlation between agreeableness and avoidance of salty foods.
The higher degree of agreeableness, the more rarely do
study participants avoid such products. Agreeableness is a
trait contrasting positive attitudes to others with the negative ones [17]. It should be noted that the study did not
reveal any correlation between the degree of agreeableness
and reduction of fat and sugar consumption. However,
some reports suggest that agreeableness may be indirectly
related to the quality of the diet and preferences for their
amounts. People who score high on agreeableness tend to
have better eating habits when it comes to some products,
for instance fried meals or adding oil on salads [13]. However, this discrepancy may result from differences in methodological approaches in studies. The paper’s priority was
to present an analysis of the general tendency to reduce fat
and sugar in one’s diet. A more detailed analysis could be
determined by various situation factors to be observed in
longitudinal research.
Conscientiousness was negatively correlated with the
consumption of products containing preservatives. The
trait is characterised by a degree of self-organisation, perseverance and self-motivation in goal-oriented activities
[17]. It should be noted that similarly to openness to experience, conscientiousness is indirectly related to an individual’s food preferences, a proper common diet, and the
quality of food. In addition, high conscientiousness contributes to the reduction of sodium in diet [13], although
this study did not confirm it. Respondents’ knowledge
about the amount of salt in products can be an important
factor justifying differences in study results. Nevertheless,
this would suggest that the level of knowledge on nutrition
is more important for reducing consumption of products
rich in salt than personality traits.
In addition, it should be highlighted that both agreeableness and conscientiousness were negatively correlated with
the behaviours connected to body mass control. Undoubtedly, this correlation not only sparks interest, but also may
be applied in the development of treatment aiming to lose
extra weight. It also presents a different perspective of the
relation between these two traits (conscientiousness in particular) in terms of body mass control in the case of persons with eating disorders and those who are free from
such problems.
V. CONCLUSIONS
The study presented above proves that personality traits
are related to eating behaviours, due to which they can
indirectly affect one’s health. Described relations may have
practical implications in weight reduction therapies in
medicine, as well as serve for informational purposes in
order to raise social awareness as part of the primary prevention.
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Selected personality traits and frequency of taking some healthy

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