Externally oriented thinking of obese men and women.

This study examined the association of scores on alexithymia and obesity. The obese group (n = 47) reported significantly higher total scores on the Toronto Alexithymia Scale than the nonobese group (n = 190). Of the four factors of alexithymia, although significant differences were not found in the statistical analysis with a Bonferroni correction, scores on externally-oriented thinking (so-called "pensée operatoire") were higher for the obese group than the nonobese group. The results suggest that persons with simple obesity are prone to alexithymia, in particular externally-oriented thinking.