Loneliness and Physical Inactivity

New research finds a connection between loneliness, unhealthy weight and physical inactivity in college students, a group that reports experiencing much higher loneliness levels in the past decade.

Forty-four percent of U.S. college students self-report that they are either overweight or obese, according to recent survey findings. George Mason University researchers in Fairfax, Virginia, explored whether these two trends are connected. They found that students who reported sedentary and low active behaviors more frequently reported having high levels of loneliness. These students with more physical inactivity were more likely to consume higher-fat diets when compared with those who had low loneliness scores. “Our study supports a potential need for further research in understanding unhealthful dietary behavior and physical activity, which may be related to loneliness, an emotion that impacts many college students,” said lead study author Li Jiang, MS.

Data for the study comes from the “Mason: Health Starts Here” transdisciplinary student cohort study that will follow a broad sample of Mason college students over time to assess how college experiences affect health and well-being. The findings are reported in the Journal of American College Health (2022; doi:10.1080/07448481.2022.2141060).

See also: Group Exercise May Help Older Adults Combat Loneliness