Eating behavior, personality traits and body mass in women.

In an exploratory study in women, the relationships between scales of emotional eating, external eating, and restrained eating, and body mass index (BMI = weight/height2) were studied, as well as the interrelationships between these three eating behavior components. In addition, the relationships between the three eating behavior scales and 19 personality scales were examined. Finally, differences between obese and latent obese women with respect to eating behavior and personality were investigated. Significant relationships were found between BMI and emotional eating, and between BMI and external eating/perceived hunger, but not between BMI and Restrained Eating. Also, restrained eating was found not to be related to the other two eating behavior components. Of the three eating behavior components, emotional eating was shown to have the clearest relationships with a number of personality traits. No difference was observed between the eating behavior of latent obese and obese women, but these groups differed as to a number of personality traits. These results are discussed in terms of consequences for prevalent theories on restrained, external, and emotional eating.