An exploration of interactions between Conscientiousness and Consideration of Future Consequences on healthy eating

• Conscientiousness (C) moderated CFC’s prediction of healthy eating intention.
• CFC positively predicted healthy eating intention for low but not high C.
• CFC–Immediate inversely predicted healthy eating intention for low but not high C.

Research in personality and health indicates that Conscientiousness and Consideration of Future Consequences (CFC) individually predict health behavior, but little is known about their combined effects. Two studies explored interactions between Conscientiousness and CFC on healthy eating outcomes in university students. CFC predicted higher intention to consume more fruits and vegetables (Study 1, n = 146) and higher intention to eat healthy (Study 2; n = 191) when Conscientiousness was low but not when it was high. Additionally, high Conscientiousness attenuated the negative association between CFC–Immediate and healthy eating intentions. Compensatory relationships between CFC and Conscientiousness may have implications for health and public policy.