Eating alone increases risk of diabetes and heart diseases

A new study found that dining alone can be dangerous to health as it may lead to increased risk of heart diseases and diabetes. Men, who at least consume two meals a day alone, are more likely to develop metabolic syndrome then those, who dine in a group.

The study authors, published in the journal, Obesity Research and Clinical Practice, said that in many parts of the world, the families have become smaller and currently, there exist more single households than ever before. The authors also pointed out that the eating patterns have become more irregular, informal and individualized.

The study was conducted on 8000 Korean adults, who were asked about their frequency of eating alone. The data was then compared with the health data after matching with factors like lifestyle, education, job, exercise and age. The results of the study indicated that the males, who ate alone have 45% increased risk of obesity and 64% increased risk of developing metabolic syndrome in future. Whereas woman, who dined alone, had only 29% increased risk of metabolic syndrome.

According to an article covered by Time.com, people, who eat alone tend to make unhealthy choices of food.

Analijn Conklin, professor at University of British Columbia, said that more research is required on the findings of the study pertaining to woman and other related factors like loneliness, stress and sleep quality. She further added, “Having more sensitive measures of stressful life events might help unpack some of the association a little better. We know that sleep deprivation and stress create a vicious loop that alters eating behaviour, and it could be one of the things driving the experience of eating alone and of metabolic syndrome.”

Source: nydailynews.com