| Title: | Low neuroticism and cognitive performance are differently associated to overweight and obesity: A cross-sectional and longitudinal UK Biobank study |
| Journal: | Psychoneuroendocrinology |
| Published: | 1 Mar 2019 |
| Pubmed: | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30469083/ |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.11.014 |
Publication 2714
WARNING: the interactive features of this website use CSS3, which your browser does not support. To use the full features of this website, please update your browser.
Abstract
The link between personality traits and cognitive performance has been extensively studies, and it has been hypothesized to play a role in the predisposition toward obesity. Neuroticism and executive functions seem to be particularly involved, and reduced executive function has been proposed to underlie the association of neuroticism with sedentary behaviors and fatty food consumption. Nonetheless, conflicting evidence exist, and information regarding other cognitive domains, as well as studies on overweight individuals, are still scarce. We therefore examined cross-sectional associations of neuroticism and cognitive function with overweight and obesity in a sample of 170,310 individuals from the UK Biobank cohort. Specifically, we focused on fluid intelligence (FI) (reasoning ability), trail making test (TMT) (executive function), numeric memory test and pairs matching (PM) task (short-term memory). Correlations between neuroticism and cognitive performance were also explored. Moreover, we investigated whether neuroticism and executive function could predict BMI variability over time. We found that reduced FI and short-term memory were associated with overweight and obesity, while reduced executive function was associated with obesity but not with overweight. Low neuroticism was associated with being overweight rather than lean or obese independently of gender and life-style. Furthermore, baseline neuroticism scores could predict BMI variations over 5-10 years follow-up, and high neuroticism correlated with lower cognitive performance. Our findings support the link between personality and cognition, and the role of neuroticism in leading to greater weight variability over time, rather than to overweight/obesity itself.1 Author
- Olivo G et al.
1 Application
| Application ID | Title |
|---|---|
| 23482 | Association of genetics, biomarkers, and environment with cognitive function and mental health |
Enabling scientific discoveries that improve human health