Study: single women eat more and have a more unbalanced diet than those in a relationship

Women who feel socially isolated have an inappropriate diet, a greater appetite and tend to eat compulsively, say the researchers.

A new study conducted by UCLA Health suggests that the changes that occur in the brain during moments of loneliness may be the reason why some women are more susceptible to an unbalanced diet. The researchers found that when exposed to images of food, especially sweet and high-calorie foods, the brains of women who reported feeling lonely showed reduced activity in the area associated with self-control.

Conducting the study

The researchers collected demographic and body composition data, including body mass index, from 93 healthy Los Angeles women between the ages of 18 and 50, with an average age of about 25 years.

The women completed questionnaires about their mental health, eating behaviors and perceived social isolation, also known as loneliness. Perceived social isolation was assessed using the “Perceived Isolation Scale”, which measures the frequency of support from friends, family and partners.

Afterwards, the participants’ brains were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which measures changes in blood flow throughout the brain.

While in the MRI scanner, the women were presented with images of different food categories. One set consisted of sweet foods with a high calorie content, such as chocolate cake. Another set consisted of salty foods with a high caloric content, such as french fries and hamburgers. There were also two categories of foods with a low caloric content (one salty, one sweet), which included salads and fruits, respectively.

Loneliness and unbalanced nutrition

Changes in brain activity were strongest when participants with greater perceived social isolation saw sweet foods with a high calorie content, such as chocolate cake. Sweet foods are known to stimulate the brain’s reward center, and researchers believe they could be a source of pleasure in lonely moments, helping to “reduce the pain and discomfort associated with feelings of loneliness or isolation.”

Separately, from body composition data and questionnaires, the researchers found that participants with greater perceived social isolation had a higher percentage of body fat and reported poorer mental health, which included reduced psychological resilience (the ability to adapt in difficult circumstances).

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ConCluSIonS

These findings represent an important step in understanding the physiological connection between loneliness and unbalanced eating, which could inspire immediate changes in the treatment of obesity.

“We’re talking about things like the fact that you can eat for emotional reasons, you can feel the desire for certain types of food,” said Dr Katherine Hanna, a lecturer in nutrition and dietetics at the Queensland University of Technology. “What this study does is it actually looks at how the brain reacts,” concluded Dr. Hanna.

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