Extroverts are better in bed but more likely to be obese – what YOUR personality means for your health
YOUR personality type can have a huge impact on your health with a study revealing that extroverts are better in bed but they are more likely to be obese.
Research from around the world have found particular personality traits can have both a positive and negative impact on your health.
Studies show there is no “perfect” personality either with every trait having both benefits and drawbacks.
While outgoing and expressive extroverts maybe the life and soul of a party their habits also put them at greater risk of developing obesity.
A German study published earlier this year found extroverts were among the best personalities at providing pleasure both for themselves and their partner.
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The team carried out a meta-analysis on eight other studies gauging both performance and partner loyalty across the traits.
Extroverts were found to be great between the sheets, but not quite the most loyal bunch.
The researchers said: “Personality not only shapes a person’s preferences for sex.
“It also shapes a person’s behaviour in a sexual relationship. This behaviour has an influence on the quality and quantity of sex and, hence, on the sexual well-being of the person and his or her partner.
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“Personality shapes sexual communication and information sharing, the way dissonant sexual preferences of the partners are handled, and the extent to which the person is committed to promises made to their partner.”
They added: “While extraversion and openness to experience help realise a mutually beneficial sex life, we find no evidence that they have a commitment value.”
The commitment value indicated how emotionally committed a person had to be to their partner in order to have quality sex with them.
German researchers in 2019 gathered data from nearly 20,000 people on both their personality type and body mass index (BMI).
They found that extroversion, along with neuroticism, corrected the highest with rates of obesity.
Researchers said this was likely because someone with a more outgoing, agreeable personality was more likely to eat snacks and take part in activities which would lead them becoming more obese.
A research team from the National Institutes of Health in 2012 had similar findings.
They wrote at the time: “Body weight, in turn, reflects our behaviours and lifestyle and contributes to the way we perceive ourselves and others.
“Participants higher on Neuroticism or Extraversion… had higher BMI; these associations replicated across body fat, waist, and hip circumference.”
Extroverts are said to make up around half of the US population.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says 40 per cent of the nation is obese, and 70 per cent of the population is overweight.
COMPETITIVE
People with a competitive drive may gain benefits in the workplace but they could be harming their hearts due to the increased amount of stress.
It was found that people who take on multiple tasks at once have poorer emotional control and will rush to meet the many demands they take on.
Dr Rachel Bollaert, a physiologist at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, explained that this can lead to multiple heart issues down the line.
“In those that have the Type A, typically we see individuals having higher rates of potentially chronic diseases like heart disease, or coronary already artery disease,” she said.
People who are hard-working, organised and detail-orientated were found to have the best health.
Conscientiousness is associated with people who have greater self-control and self-discipline.
Studies have linked conscientious personality types to healthier eating and more physical activity.
Others have linked it to the avoidance of poor behaviours like smoking or excess alcohol consumption.
All of these factors significantly decrease a person’s risk of suffering multiple health problems, like cancer, heart disease, diabetes and more.
The personality trait though has been linked to obsessive compulsive personality disorder (OCD).
INTROVERTS
Introverts have been found to have better physical health but are more likely to struggle mentally.
The 2021 study that linked extroversion to obesity also found that those who scored lower on the scale were less likely to be severely overweight.
Lower obesity rates are linked to less of a risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, many types of cancers and a number of other health issues.
However, a 2001 study from the University of North Carolina revealed introverts are more likely to be neurotic, displaying lower emotional stability and sensitivity towards others.
That in turn leads to increased risks of suffering from depression.
PESSIMISTS
The negative views on the world by pessimists are linked to higher risks of anxiety, depression and more stress – along with all the negative health risks associated with it.
Pessimists are also more likely to cause a man to lose his hair earlier in life, studies show.
Researchers in Tokyo, Japan, found that men who reported more pessimism about the future were more likely to have a receding hair line or thinning found around their head.
There could be some benefits for being pessimistic too.
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They are often more cautious in life – as they fear the worse when making decisions.
As a result, studies find that they are often more prepared for disaster and other negative scenarios others may not be prepared for.