According to a survey conducted by Annalijn Conklin, a doctor at the Center for Food and Activity Research (CEDAR), isolation does not only affect people’s mental health but also their physical health.
The team of scientists looked at data from the English “EPIC-Norfolk” study, which recruited around 25,000 people aged 40 to 80 who took part in a European health survey. For 20 years, these volunteers were followed by doctors who analyzed their diet, their lifestyle and the appearance of chronic diseases such as cancer or diabetes.
If the study had already revealed that people who consumed more vegetables and balanced meals had a 13% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, Annalijn Conklin explains that “as a researcher in social epidemiology, I was particularly interested in the link between people’s social relationships, the lack contact with friends and family, and diet. » And that « I have studied a lot the impact of these social factors on the health of the elderly. »
The ability to eat healthily is influenced by the social environment
“Thanks to our new research, we better understand the links between social life, diet and health. The results reveal that the marital status of the elderly has a significant impact on the quality of their feed. »
“Compared to adults who live with a partner, single over-50s ate 2.3 fewer vegetables per day. Unsurprisingly, loneliness affects the habits of older populations, their health and their diet. And this information is important, because eating well is essential to aging well.
The researcher concludes that it is important for the public authorities to get the elderly out of isolation to preserve their health because “loneliness is more harmful than obesity, the alcoholand physical inactivity. And that being alone is as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes a day! »