Eating attitudes and temperament attributes of normal and overweight college students.

The aim of the present investigation was to compare temperament and eating attitudes in overweight versus "normal" weight samples of college students. In Study 1, the responses of women of normal and overweight status on measures of temperament and eating attitudes were analyzed. Overweight women were shown lower on self-rated "activity" and "oral control." Given the suggestive nature of the results, a larger sample including both women and men was obtained for Study 2. The results of the first study were replicated for the women, and overweight men were additionally found lower in "emotional distress" and "fear," with weight status related to all three aspects of eating behavior. That is, differences by weight status were discerned for both women and men on oral control, with overweight men also higher in "dieting" and "bulimia-food preoccupation." Further research on overweight men versus women, their perceptions of their own temperaments, and their attitudes toward eating, may be beneficial in understanding more about risk factors for the development of obesity.