In last week’s article, I wrote about the personality and eating styles of the introvert. That article generated a lot of email from my readers, with many saying they had no idea they were introverts but after reading the article they finally had an explanation for their
behavior.
Introverts often feel there is something wrong with them because they are so different from the extroverts around them. As far as eating goes, introverts will often overeat or even binge (alone) as a way to numb their overstimulation or exhaustion and to recharge themselves.
This week we’re going to explore the world of extroverts. It was always thought that extroverts were in the vast majority but the latest studies show something different. It’s now thought that extroverts make up 49.3%, and introverts represent 50.7% of the total population.
As I stated in my previous article, the true definition of extroverts and introverts is that extroverts gain energy around others and introverts are energetically drained by other people. Introverts are internally focused (their inner world) and extroverts have an external focus (their outer environment).
What this means in regards to eating is that introverts will often eat in response to internal feelings, thoughts, and physical sensations of hunger or tiredness, and extroverts, with their external focus, will eat in response to external cues, such as seeing food, or eating because others are eating. Extroverts are also more likely to eat because the clock says “lunch time” even though they aren’t really
hungry.
