Although weight tends to increase gradually across the lifespan, there are considerable individual differences in the rate and magnitude of change. After accounting for demographic differences, in the present study, impulsive individuals, in particular those who are unable to resist temptation (N5: Impulsiveness) and those who enjoy taking risks (E5: Excitement-Seeking) and individuals who are antagonistic, in particular those who are cynical (low A1: Trust), competitive and aggressive (low A4: Compliance), gained more weight. In addition to weight gain over time, the analyses of weight fluctuations revealed a pattern of associations between personality and adiposity over time not captured by the HLM analyses. As described below, the differences between the HLM and the fluctuation analyses suggest that processes inherent to traits may have different implications for weight across the adult lifespan.
