Being single and alone kills faster than obesity, study says

by Staff writer

While everyone is going on about how being single is the new relationship status to be in right now, experts have come up with startling evidence that being single could lead to death.

According to a review based on approximately 218 studies on loneliness and social isolation, it was found that being single and lonely and without a romantic partner can actually increase a lot of health risks, leading to eventual death.

In the study, those with bad social connections were found to be 50 times more likely to die earlier than those with good social connections.

Social isolation is said to increase a person’s health risk by half, when compared to issues, like obesity which is found to raise one’s death risk by 30 per cent.

It is no secret that humans crave connection because it is what our body needs, biologically, as well.

A need to belong with someone, to be connected in some way that enhances communication and relationships is also proven to be good for mental as well as physical wellbeing.

According to Dr. Julianne Holt-Lunstad, lead author of the research and professor of psychology at Brigham Young University:

“Being connected to others socially is widely considered a fundamental human need, crucial to both well-being and survival.”

She further cites examples that show infants in custodial care who lack human contact fail to thrive and often die, and indeed, social isolation or solitary confinement has been used as a form of punishment.

Given the findings of these and many more such studies, what’s rather unfortunate as it is shocking is that, in a day and age when social media is said to have connected people from the remotest parts of the world and dating apps have made it easier to meet people with whom we may have a bond with, we are increasingly lonelier than ever.

Dr Holt goes on to say:

“There is robust evidence that social isolation and loneliness significantly increase risk for premature mortality, and the magnitude of the risk exceeds that of many leading health indicators.

“With an increasing aging population, the effect on public health is only anticipated to increase.”