A Survey of Biographical and Psychological Features in Extraordinary Fatness

Abstract

Twenty-one very obese adults, with a median of 131% over actuarial average weights, were surveyed by interviews and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. The group did not differ from some less obese groups reported by other investigators for frequency of family obesity, reactive eating, reported family feeding conflicts, sibship position, parental overprotection, and psychiatric diagnoses. Factors which appeared homogeneous and distinctive for this group included early onset of obesity, massive weights by midadolescence, and ability to lose large amounts of weight temporarily. Two frequently assessed personality traits were overcontrol of emotions and indirect expression of hostility. Some factors, such as number of obese family members, sibship position, and reported parental overprotection, served to distinguish significantly a subgroup judged low in psychopathology from a subgroup judged high for this variable.