Investigation of the effect of personality traits of generation X and Y on hedonic hunger and food neophobia

This study aims to examine the effect of personality traits of Generations X and Y on hedonic hunger and food neophobia. The research was conducted between May 2024 and July 2024 with a sample of 306 voluntary participants aged 24 to 60 from various districts of Ankara, representing both generations. Participants were administered a face-to-face survey comprising sociodemographic characteristics, dietary habits and health status questions related to, including the Five-Factor Personality Inventory (FFPI), the Power of Food Scale (PFS), the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and the Food Neophobia Scale (FNS). Data were analyzed using SPSS v22. As a result of the analyses, the gender ratios of both generations (50.3% female, 49.7% male) were found to be the same (p>0.05). A significant difference was found between the generations only in extraversion and openness subdimensions (p<0.05). The total score of PFS was found to be lower in Generation X compared to Generation Y, and 76.5% of Generation Y and 64.1% of Generation X were found to experience hedonic hunger (p<0.05). When the total score of the FNS was analysed, it was found that 44.2±11.38 and 38.9±12.50 were found in Generation X and Generation Y, respectively, and 21.6% of Generation X was found to be more neophobic than 9.8% of Generation Y (p<0.05). When analyzing correlations between FFPI subdimensions and highly craved food types, Generation X showed a negative correlation between agreeableness and consumption of chips, carbonated drinks, and fast food, while neuroticism was positively correlated with the consumption of cream-filled pastries, bakery products, carbonated drinks, bread varieties, pasta, pastries, and ice cream. In Generation Y, extraversion was negatively correlated with cream-filled pastries, bakery products, and ice cream, whereas openness showed a negative correlation with seeds and ice cream (p<0.05). Evaluation of the correlations between PFS and FFPI subdimensions revealed a positive correlation between extraversion and food availability in Generation X. In Generation Y, conscientiousness was negatively correlated with the total PFS score, food availability, and food presence, while neuroticism was positively correlated with the total PFS score and food availability (p<0.05). Additionally, it was found that as neuroticism scores increased, FNS scores also increased in Generation X. In both generations, higher openness scores were associated with lower FNS scores (p<0.05). No significant correlations were identified between FFPI subdimensions and BMI values in either generation (p>0.05). An analysis of the direct effect of FFPI subdimensions on hedonic hunger showed that conscientiousness had a negative effect in both generations, while agreeableness and neuroticism had positive effects in Generation Y (p<0.05). Mediation analyses investigating the role of food neophobia revealed a positive indirect effect of openness on hedonic hunger in Generation X (p<0.05). In contrast, no significant indirect effect was observed for any FFPI subdimension in Generation Y (p>0.05). As a result, it was observed that certain personality traits of generations may have an effect on hedonic hunger and food neophobia. These findings may shed light on improving individualised nutrition interventions by considering the effects of personality traits of individuals.