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Is Your Personality Making You Fat?

 

The Wall Street Journal’s article Is Your Personality Making You Put on Pounds listed some personality traits that may affect weight gain.  Some of the links between personality and weight gain include weight gain in people who are:

  • Less Agreeable
  • Night Owls
  • Stress Junkies
  • Mindless Multitaskers
  • Givers
  • Perfectionists

The author of the article provides some fixes for people who exhibit these traits.

Impulsiveness has also been linked to weight gain.  The Huffington Post reported, “A 2006 study by Maastricht University of 26 obese children found that the most overweight children were also the most impulsive. Another study, published in 2008 by the University of Alabama, found that obese women had significantly lower impulse control than normal weight women, while a 1976 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition similarly found that obese women were more likely to be “non-conforming and impulsive” than their non-obese peers.”

Neurotic people also have issues with weight gain.  The National Institute of Aging studied nearly 2000 people and found that people with high levels of neuroticism and low levels of conscientiousness displayed more frequent weight increases and decreases.

The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology released a study that studied participants based on the Big Five personality traits of openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.  There were a total of 14,531 assessments across the 50 years of the study. Pyschcentral reported that the results showed, “greater weight gain among impulsive people; those who enjoy taking risks; and those who are antagonistic — especially those who are cynical, competitive and aggressive.”  ABCLocal reported that this study showed, “that people who are meaner are more likely to gain weight with age. Those considered more conscientious were likely to be leaner.”

A lead researcher from the Institute of Aging, Angelina Sutin, was interviewed by Boomer Health and Life.  Sutin stated, “We hope that by more clearly identifying the association between personality and obesity, more tailored treatments will be created. For example, lifestyle and exercise interventions that are done in a group setting may be more effective for extroverts than for introverts.”

WebMD claims that if you know your diet personality, it can help you lose weight.  Weight loss plans should be based on whether you are a:

  • Support Seeker
  • Serial Snacker
  • Free Spirit
  • Sweet Tooth
  • Distracted Diner

To find ideal diet plans based on each of these types, click here.

Related Articles

  • Top 25 Links to Change Your Body, Career and More
  • New Research Uses Imagine to Show Serotonin’s Link to Anger
  • Boomers Worry More About Their Brain Than Their Body
  • Top 10 Personality Tests
  • Considering Plastic Surgery?  Site Lets Patients Share Stories
  • Famous Computer Geniuses With Asperger’s
  • Famous People Capitalizing on Manic Depression
  • Mark Zuckerberg and Asperger’s
  • Right Brained vs. Left Brain: Who Will Rule the World
  • Acceptance of the Treatment of Depression

Considering Plastic Surgery? Site Lets Patients Share Stories

Sites like HysterSisters have been popular for women who want to get together and discuss their menopause and hysterectomy-related issues. Now there is a site for people to utilize who may be considering plastic surgery.  The site MakeMeHeal.com offers a variety of information including everything from post-surgical underwear choices to information about what products may be helpful to heal after specific surgeries. 

If a patient is considering eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty) for example, they can go to the link specifically about that procedure to find out details about the surgery including how long it will take to recover, homeopathic remedies for pain relief, what other comfort products are available, and even what makeup works the best as camouflage.

Like the HysterSisters site, the MakeMeHeal site offers a message board.  According to their site, “Our plastic surgery message boards are for all of us who want to talk, listen, share, help, and support fellow women and men interested in cosmetic surgery and non-surgical procedures. You can read messages without logging in. To post a message, please log in or register. It’s free…and being a member gives you access to important information.”

The site even offers a directory of doctors.  Be aware that the doctors with a lot of information and recommendations may also be advertising on the site. It is important that you research any physician on additional sites.  Patients can rate their doctors and even upload their own before and after pictures.  There is a “create your photo album” option available for those interested in keeping track of several operations.   

I recently asked Dr. Robert Spies, a board-certified plastic surgeon in Arizona what he thought about this site. Dr. Spies stated, “It’s an informative, easy-to-navigate website that provides excellent up-to-date information on the latest plastic surgery procedures.” For additional information about specific operations, see the following links from Dr. Robert Spies, MD at Arizona Plastic Surgical Center:

Facelifts

Breast Augmentation

Liposuction

Tummy Tuck

Non-Surgical Procedures like Botox

Kate Middleton Dukan Diet and Tracy Anderson’s 30 Day Method Latest Craze or Common Sense

With the upcoming wedding, there is a lot of focus on Kate Middleton. Her interest in France’s Dukan Diet is the buzz. According to Psychology today, this Atkins-like diet, “It is very restrictive and rule-bound (high protein, low calorie), and then eventually gives permission to “eat anything” on six days of the week if you revert to the original guidelines (to basically cut out everything except for lean protein) for one day of the week, ad infinitum.” I’ve tried Atkins-like diets in the past and found that not having carbs not only made me miss them (especially chocolate), but I couldn’t sleep.

There are always new fads out there for dieting. Lately Tracy Anderson’s 30 Day Method has been mentioned quite a bit as well. After hearing that Courtney Cox and Gwyneth Paltrow use her method, I thought I’d get the Anderson book. Although I haven’t had a chance to watch the DVD that came with it, I did look at the daily amounts and types of food that she suggests in it. Although it would be nice to look like Cox or Paltrow, the food choices were very unusual (not much I could even eat because I am picky) and very small in quantity.  I will give some attention to her exercise program though as Anderson and her followers do look pretty amazing. 

Sometimes these books are fun to read to see what people are doing out there to look perfect. But I think I’ll look a little less perfect and keep to a common sense diet … oh and with a little chocolate thrown in for good measure.

Baby Boomers Turn 65 This Year: Keeping the Illusion of Youth While Staying Healthy

This year the oldest baby boomers will turn 65.  If you call a baby boomer “elderly”, you might find that is not a term they take lightly.  The days of older generations taking it easy and moving to quiet communities have faded.  This is a very proud group that wants to remain vital and active for as long as possible.

Although boomers may not have noticed it, marketers are using subtle targeting methods to reach this group without insulting them. Some companies are using larger typefaces and avoiding colors that are hard to distinguish between to allow for their packaging to be distinct to older eyes.  If aging boomers haven’t realized their clothing size may remaind the same, while their body size increases, they may not be aware that clothing companies are doing something called vanity sizing.  Although not necessarily unique to only boomers, Mesh.com reported, “Gap, the parent company of Banana Republic, was contacted to ask about the new double-zero size. They said they’re responding to the demands of their customers. They said women want smaller sizes.”

Boomers may dress for success still but father time is creeping up on them.  Companies are doing their best to allow boomers to age gracefully, keeping their dignity intact.  WJS.com reported, “Kimberly-Clark spent two years overhauling its Depend brand, anticipating boomers would demand changes to the image and design of a line long considered too diaper-like and institutional. By 2020, Kimberly-Clark expects 45 million boomers will need incontinence products, up from 38 million currently.”

Those not ready for diapers, are not ready to sit on the porch swing and rock either.  In the past, retired generations paid off their mortgages to live their twilight years free of debt.  Boomers may be downsizing but many plan to move into new homes.  “A big driver of boomers’ increased spending is the fact that over one-third plan to move to a new home within five years of becoming empty nesters.”

Boomers may not be retiring as early either.  The stock market crisis is partly to blame, but there are other reasons.   Another issue facing this generation is that they often have to not only care for their children but their own aging parents.  They have often been called the sandwich generation because of this.  US News Money reported, “Almost a third (31 percent) of relatively wealthy Americans are supporting older and younger immediate family members at the same time, according to a new Merrill Lynch Wealth Management survey of 1,000 people with investable assets of $250,000 or more.” The stress from this has caused many boomers to have difficulty with their jobs and health, leading to a generation that experiences higher rates of depression.

RetirementBoomerStyle listed some recommendations for this generation and how to stay as healthy as possible, “So, while baby boomers are caring for the health of their family, they should keep themselves in mind as well. A diet that is high in fiber is ideal for the baby boomer, and including lean meats in the diet will provide the protein that is needed for energy and muscle toning. Baby boomer women should also considered taking a supplement that includes omega-3 fatty acids; this will improve memory and brain function, and make it easier for the body to fight off free radicals. In addition to taking supplements, women should also be sure to eat some form of fatty fish each week, such as salmon or tuna. Men of this generation should be sure to eat foods that are rich in lycopene, a substance that can reduce the risk of prostate cancer. Lycopene can be found in foods like tomatoes and watermelon, so eating these fruits fresh a few times a week can make a big difference when it comes to preventative health.”