The relationship between body mass index and impulsivity

Goal: Obesity is an increasing health problem in the world. There are studies show that it is associated with impulsivity and obesity. Impulsiveness; It is defined as the tendency to act quickly illogical. The goal is to investigate the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and impulsivity. Method: The study was conducted as a cross-sectional descriptive study among volunteer patients at KTU Faculty of Medicine Family Medicine Outpatient Clinic between November-December 2019. Sociodemographic information questionnaire and Barratt Impulsivity Scale-11 Short Form (BIS-11). The data of a total of 400 participants, whose BMIs were recorded by measuring their height and weight, were analyzed. The data were analyzed with SPSS package program. Numerical variables were evaluated in terms of normal distribution by Kolmogorov Smirnov-z test. Descriptive statistics and Spearmen correlation analysis were used. Statistical significance level was taken as p <0.05. Results: 274 of the participants were women (68.5%), 126 were men (31.5%). A positive correlation was found between the BMI of the participants and the total impulsivity score (r = 0.442, p <0.001). Similarly, a positive correlation was found between BMI scores and motor impulsivity (r = 0.358, p <0.001), attention impulsivity (r = 0.274, p <0.001) and not planning (r = 0.398, p <0.001). Conclusion: It was observed that there was positive relationship between BMI and impulsivity so impulsivity plays an important role in obesity. Therefore, development of screening and treatments for impulsivity may be beneficial in combating obesity. Keyword: impulsivity, body mass index, obesity