Personality traits related to eating behavior and weight loss in a group of severely obese patients

The Karolinska Scales of Personality (KSP) test was used to relate personality traits to eating behavior, measured by the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire, and to weight loss in a group of severely obese patients. The patients had been treated only in a combined behavioral modification program or had a previous fixation. Those in the behavioral program who scored high in Muscular Tension and Guilt and low in Verbal Aggression also scored high in the “restrained eating” scale. Somatic Anxiety, Muscular Tension, and Psychic Anxiety correlated positively with the “disinhibition” and “hunger” scales in the jaw fixation group. Ability to adequately express feelings of aggressiveness was positvely related to long-term weight reduction in the jaw fixation group. No such relationship could be found in the behavioral treatment group. These findings suggest that there might be an association between personality traits, eating behavior, and weight loss in the groups studied.