This content originally appeared on On a regular basis Health. Republished with permission.
By Lisa Rapaport
Key Takeaways
- A recent study checked out brain scans of ladies shown abstract images unrelated to food or images of various sweet and savory foods.
- Those that felt essentially the most socially isolated had essentially the most activity in brain regions connected to cravings for sugary foods.
- The study suggests that constructing latest social connections may lead to healthier eating habits.
Loneliness isn’t only a mood issue: A brand new study suggests that folks who consider themselves socially isolated may have more intense cravings for sugary foods as evidenced by scans of brain activity.[1]
This research, published in JAMA Network Open, builds on earlier investigations linking loneliness to poor mental health, cognitive decline, weight gain, and obesity-related chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes. Despite abundant evidence for these connections, scientists still don’t have a transparent picture of the underlying causes, says senior study creator Arpana Gupta, PhD, an associate professor and director of the G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience on the University of California in Los Angeles.
“While it’s established that obesity is linked to depression and anxiety, and that binge eating is known to be a coping mechanism against loneliness, I wanted to look at the brain pathways related to these feelings and behaviors,” Gupta says.
To do that, Gupta and her team surveyed 93 women about their social connections, feelings of loneliness or isolation, body weight, and eating behaviors. Scientists then used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to see how participants’ brains responded after they saw abstract images unrelated to food or images of various sweet and savory foods.
The study found that, overall, participants who reported higher levels of social isolation were also more prone to have intense food cravings, unhealthy diets, uncontrolled eating, and symptoms of tension and depression.
MRIs also revealed that participants who felt essentially the most socially isolated had essentially the most activity in brain regions thought to play a task in responding to cravings for sugary foods. The loneliest participants also had reduced activity in brain regions that play a task in self-control related to eating behaviors.
“Social isolation could cause food cravings just like the cravings for social connections,” Dr. Gupta says. “We show evidence for the undeniable fact that our social bonds are key in regard to how we eat unhealthy foods — especially highly calorie-dense foods and sweets.”
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The study has certain limitations, including its small size and its reliance on participants to accurately recall and report details about their eating behaviors, mood, and health.
Even so, the outcomes provide fresh evidence to suggest that our mood influences our response to food, says Lu Qi, MD, PhD, a professor and director of the obesity research center on the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in Latest Orleans.
“The study finds brain reactivity particularly to sweet foods, which explains maladaptive eating behavioral changes amongst socially isolated people,” says Dr. Qi, who wasn’t involved within the research.
The excellent news in these findings is that folks might have the ability to influence their eating behaviors by making changes of their social lives to cut back feelings of isolation, Qi says.
Searching for ways to construct social support systems is a very good method to start, Gupta says. This might mean pursuing a hobby, volunteering, joining clubs, or doing anything that may help increase interactions with other people. Over time, this might help change how the brain responds to food cues in ways in which make it easier to withstand sweets.
“We also can use holistic mind-body interventions to normalize these alterations within the brain through meditation, journaling, and stress-reduction exercises,” Gupta says.
Being aware that sugar cravings are connected to social isolation may help people feel like they’ve the flexibility to alter their eating patterns, Gupta adds. “Knowing that being lonely makes you crave those high calorie foods — especially sugars — is empowering,” Gupta says.