Personality traits influence physical activity and sedentary behavior

Associations of personality traits with physical activity and sedentary behavior were observed in a study conducted at the Gerontology Research Centre and the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences at the University of Jyväskylä. Individuals characterized by high conscientiousness and extraversion are more likely to accumulate longer periods of both physical activity and sedentary behavior, whereas individuals who have higher scores in neuroticism tend to interrupt their sedentary behavior more often.

The study followed the personality traits of the same individuals when they were 33, 42, 50, and 61 years old. It formed personality profiles, representing unique combinations of the personality traits of neuroticism, extraversion, conscientiousness, openness and agreeableness.

We identified five personality trait profiles: resilient, brittle, overcontrolled, undercontrolled and ordinary."

Katja Kokko, research director 

In previous research based on the same data, personality profiles have been linked to self-assessed health.

"Individuals who belonged to the resilient profile had the highest level of self-assessed health whereas those with a brittle profile had the lowest level of self-assessed health."

The recent study combined, for the first time, data on personality trait profiles with device-based metrics of daily physical activity and sedentary behavior measured at age 61. The personality profiles differed in their usual lengths of time spent in physical activity and sedentary behavior.

Individuals with a resilient profile accumulated both their physical activity and sedentary behavior in longer periods, while those with a brittle profile interrupted their sedentary behavior more frequently.

"The findings may indicate that those with a resilient profile, characterized by high conscientiousness and extraversion, engage more likely in scheduled sport activities," says doctoral researcher Johanna Ahola. "On the other hand, people with a brittle profile, described by high neuroticism, may feel unease to stay sedentary for long periods of time, and prefer light activities.

"Neuroticism has often been associated with higher levels of sedentary behavior. However, in our study, those with a brittle profile interrupted their sedentary behavior often, which is of course beneficial for health."

The study also examined the relationship between personality profiles and the ratio of physical activity to sedentary behavior, which has been shown to be meaningful for the risk of mortality among people over 50 in a previous study by other researchers. When the proportion of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity exceeded one-tenth of the time spent sedentary, the 10-year mortality risk decreased more steeply.

"Although there were no statistically significant differences between the personality profiles in either the amounts of physical activity and sedentary behavior or the ratios between the two, the results remain interesting. In light of the existing knowledge, the ratios of individuals with resilient and ordinary profiles were particularly favorable in our study," concludes Johanna Ahola.

The research publication is based on the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development, where the development of the same individuals has been followed for over 50 years. From 1968 to 2012, the research was led by Professor Lea Pulkkinen, and from 2013 onwards, it has been led by Research Director Katja Kokko. The publication is part of the PATHWAY project funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture and the TRAILS project funded by the Research Council of Finland. The writing of the research article was also supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation.