Why loneliness is as dangerous to health as obesity

According to data obtained by specialists from Brigham Young University, Utah, USA, loneliness is just as dangerous to life as overweight problems.

Experts have come to the conclusion that lack of communication can lead to early death.
Scientists conducted a detailed analysis of data from several medical studies involving more than 3 million volunteers.

During the experiment, all participants had to answer questions about how lonely or socially isolated they were.

In order to obtain accurate data, the researchers took into account all important factors such as the gender of the volunteers, their age, their socio-economic factor and also their diseases.

The results showed that loneliness can increase the risk of premature death almost as much as obesity problems.

According to the authors of the study, some people continue to feel lonely even when they are in the company of other people. The reason for such negative feelings can be mental disorders, depression and stress.

In addition, some volunteers quite deliberately isolate themselves from society, explaining such behavior by the fact that they prefer solitude or are introverts.

Such behavior was most often characteristic of young people.

Scientists note that the risk of premature death increases sharply in elderly people who are sometimes left alone.

The situation is seen by scientists as critical, they claim that in the modern world people love loneliness too much, and soon the whole planet will be threatened by a real epidemic of loneliness.

Today, social isolation, according to data obtained by researchers, increases the risk of early death among people younger than 65 years of age.

It should be recalled that earlier experts found a connection between the reduction of life expectancy and the presence of mental illnesses in humans.

Research shows that such mental problems as depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia take about 10 years off a person’s life.

The data obtained by an international group of scientists after analyzing the results of 200 studies show that every year due to mental disorders about 8 million people die. Very often the cause of very early death is suicide.

It should be noted that the results of a sociological survey commissioned by an insurance company were recently published, according to which people feel happy if they only live to the age of 50.

The main purpose of the sociological study was to establish the feelings experienced by lonely people. For this purpose, a survey was conducted of both married and cohabiting couples, as well as bachelors and old maids.

As a result of the sociological study, it was established that it is after the age of 50 that loneliness ceases to bring pleasure.

In particular, the researchers found that among those who were seriously engaged, by the age of 50 they were fully capable of deriving pleasure from their solitude.

And this determines a number of advantages for such people. For example, they have more free time, which allows them to concentrate on more activities.

But as they approach the age of 50, these advantages become a serious disadvantage for them. According to the study, as the years progressed, 78% of single people lost their sense of happiness, while 60% of married people felt happy.

It was also noted that the emotional state of people who had grandchildren was much better compared to those who had no offspring.