title: Personality traits, education, physical exercise, and childhood neurological function as independent predictors of adult obesity.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate whether personality traits, education, physical exercise, parental socio-economic conditions, and childhood neurological function are independently associated with obesity in 50 year old adults in a longitudinal birth cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  The sample consisted of 5,921 participants born in Great Britain in 1958 and followed up at 7, 11, 33, 42, and 50 years with data on body mass index measured at 42 and 50 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was an increase of adult obesity from 14.2% at age 42 to 23.6% at 50 years. Cohort members who were reported by teachers on overall clumsiness as "certainly applied" at age 7 were more likely to become obese at age 50. In addition, educational qualifications, traits Conscientiousness and Extraversion, psychological distress, and physical exercise were all significantly associated with adult obesity. The associations remained to be significant after controlling for birth weight and gestation, maternal and paternal BMI, childhood BMI, childhood intelligence and behavioural adjustment, as well as diet.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Neurological function in childhood, education, trait Conscientiousness, and exercise were all significantly and independently associated with adult obesity, each explained unique individual variability.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Furnham
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D004493:Education; D015444:Exercise; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010290:Parents; D010551:Personality; D012923:Social Class; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology