Men are especially prone to serious health issues.
Risk of a metabolic syndrome is high for those who eat alone, a new study claims.
Researchers from Dongguk University Ilsan Hospital in Seoul, South Korea found men were especially at risk of developing health issues, according to a report by the Daily Mail.
For the study they examined the relationship between loneliness and health in 7,725 adult males and females, who all eat alone.
Men developed obesity by 45% and had a 64% chance of developing a metabolic syndrome, the study found. Women were 29% likely to develop a metabolic syndrome if they ate two or more meals alone daily.
Because a growing number of people live alone in this day and age, researchers wanted to understand how loneliness leads people to make unhealthy choices when it comes to food.
Feeling alone or isolated can cause someone to turn to junk food instead of a healthy meal previous research has indicated. This therefore causes many to develop prediabetes, high blood pressure and various other health issues.
The study was originally published in Obesity Research & Clinical Practice.