title: Personality traits and eating habits in a large sample of Estonians.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Diet has health consequences, which makes knowing the psychological correlates of dietary habits important. Associations between dietary habits and personality traits were examined in a large sample of Estonians (N = 1,691) aged between 18 and 89 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  Dietary habits were measured using 11 items, which grouped into two factors reflecting (a) health aware and (b) traditional dietary patterns. The health aware diet factor was defined by eating more cereal and dairy products, fish, vegetables and fruits. The traditional diet factor was defined by eating more potatoes, meat and meat products, and bread. Personality was assessed by participants themselves and by people who knew them well. The questionnaire used was the NEO Personality Inventory-3, which measures the Five-Factor Model personality broad traits of Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness, along with six facets for each trait. Gender, age and educational level were controlled for.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Higher scores on the health aware diet factor were associated with lower Neuroticism, and higher Extraversion, Openness and Conscientiousness (effect sizes were modest: r = .11 to 0.17 in self-ratings, and r = .08 to 0.11 in informant-ratings, ps < 0.01 or lower). Higher scores on the traditional diet factor were related to lower levels of Openness (r = -0.14 and -0.13, p < .001, self- and informant-ratings, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Endorsement of healthy and avoidance of traditional dietary items are associated with people's personality trait levels, especially higher Openness. The results may inform dietary interventions with respect to possible barriers to diet change.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia. rene.mottus@ut.ee
authors.forename: René
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mõttus
authors.forename: Anu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Realo
authors.forename: Jüri
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Allik
authors.forename: Ian J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Deary
authors.forename: Tõnu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Esko
authors.forename: Andres
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Metspalu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004957:Estonia / Q000208:ethnology; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010551:Personality; D010555:Personality Inventory; D055815:Young Adult