Study Says That Eating Alone Is Not Good For Your Health
You see it all the time, people eating alone at restaurants and food courts. Maybe they are just grabbing a bite for lunch or dinner, which is normal and perfectly…
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You see it all the time, people eating alone at restaurants and food courts. Maybe they are just grabbing a bite for lunch or dinner, which is normal and perfectly fine, however if these people are eating all of their meals alone, that's a different story.
We all have a relative that spends a lot of their time alone for various reasons and the older they worse it is for their overall health. If you have an older family member that lives alone make sure that they are having some of their meals with other people.
That can be difficult if they're older and not as mobile as they used to be, so you might have to encourage them to find company somehow.
Here's why adults should not always eat alone
Flinders University researchers reviewed 24 studies across 10 countries and found older adults who regularly eat alone face significant health risks. The analysis of tens of thousands of seniors aged 65 and older revealed solo diners consume fewer fruits, vegetables, and protein compared to those sharing meals.
Japanese research tracking nearly 57,000 seniors for three years showed people who seldom shared meals faced 29% higher risk of losing over 10% of their body weight. Korean studies found solo diners ate 26 grams of meat daily versus 35 grams for group diners. Swedish research showed solo diners were 32% less likely to eat vegetables regularly. (Story URL)
If this study hits home for you like it does for me and my family, then be sure to be proactive when it comes to making sure the older adults in your family are not eating alone too often.
My mother in law lived alone for 5 years after the death of her husband and we started to see that her diet was not as good as it could be. She was eating a lot of frozen dinners that were not the healthiest for her and her diet consisted of very few fresh fruit and vegatables.
Last year she moved into an adult "retirement home" that offers much better food than she was getting eating alone and her health has improved markedly in the past year. She has access to lot's of new friends that she dines with on a daily basis, and her outlook on life has improved as well.
She has so many new friends that we hardly see her anymore, and we couldn't be happier for her!
