Complex Interactions Between Obesity and Food Addiction Among Office Workers: The Role of Personality Factors: An Analytical Research

Objective: The study aims to unravel the intricate relationship between obesity, food addiction, and personality traits among office workers. Material and Methods: To achieve this goal, the researchers employed various tools, including sociodemographic data forms, the Yale Food Addiction Scale, the Urgency, Premeditation, Perseverance, Sensation Seeking Impulsive Behavior Scale, and the Five Factor Personality Inventory. Results: The results reveal nuanced interactions between food addiction and personality traits across different body mass index (BMI) categories. Among those with a normal BMI, no significant correlations were found between food addiction and personality dimensions like extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, or openness to experience (p>0.050). However, for mildly obese individuals, heightened extraversion linked to an increase in food addiction (β1=0.425; p=0.011), while among the obese, higher impulsivity corresponded to elevated food addiction (β1=2.141; p<0.001). Furthermore, changes in extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness to experience exhibited varying effects on food addiction among the obese. Conclusion: These findings provide valuable insights into the complex interplay between obesity, food addiction, and personality traits among office workers. The results could potentially inform more effective strategies for managing obesity and treating food addiction, by incorporating factors such as extraversion and impulsivity into intervention programs.