Is Your Personality Making You Fat?

Are you a blurter, an interrupter—excuse me, we weren't finished—or a spur-of-the-moment decider?

It's no surprise that impulsive people are impulsive eaters and thus more likely to be overweight, but it is a bit of a shock to hear how those pounds can add up: The NIA study, which was published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, found that those who scored in the top 10 percent on impulsivity in personality tests weighed an average 22 pounds more than those in the bottom 10 percent.
Change your behavior: Identify the things you're powerless to resist: The office candy jar, the croissants at your local café, the pizza place on the drive home—and then do whatever it takes to avoid temptation, Gans says. Switch up your routine. If this isn't realistic, Gans suggests creating distractions. Find a health-conscious coworker (not another candy junkie) who's leaving the office at the same time you are and strike up a conversation to keep your eyes and mind off the jar of temptations. Or pick up some healthy takeout before you pass the pizza place. Whenever you can, eliminate the opportunity to make last-minute decisions that involve food.