World Scene: Japan

Sociable types more obese

Outgoing people tend to be overweight, while anxious types are more likely to be thin, according to Japanese researchers who examined the links between personality and body mass. More than 30,000 people in northeastern Japan aged between 40 and 64 were quizzed about their height and weight, and given a personality test, according to a study published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research this month. The results showed that outgoing people were far more likely than other people to have a body mass index of more than 25, a widely used definition of overweight, said Masako Kakizaki of Tohoku University.

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