Wanna be happy? Don’t eat meals alone

Eating meals alone is the biggest cause of unhappiness after mental illness, a study has found.

A quarter of adults eat alone all or most of the time, often because of hectic lifestyles or social isolation.

And this makes us more unhappy than financial problems or physical disabilities, the research found.

One quarter of all adults eat alone all or most of the time, often due to their lifestyle

Single people are most likely to eat alone and feel worse than those who dine with friends

For the study, more than 8,000 people were asked questions that measured happiness, satisfaction, self worth and anxiety on a ' wellbeing' scale from zero to 100, called the Living Well Index. Those who always ate alone scored almost eight points lower on average than those who never did.

Nearly a fifth of those who live by themselves said they eat alone all of the time, particularly those who are single or overworked.

Most retired people, however, said they never or only occasionally eat alone. An unsatisfactory sex life, sleep deprivation or feeling timepressured were also significant causes of unhappiness.

Chris Sherwood, head of relationship counselling service Relate, said: ' We know that good quality relationships with friends and family are essential to our wellbeing so it's good to see the power of face- to- face interaction coming through so strongly on the Living

Well Index.

Eating together more often

is a simple way of enhancing your connection with others so why not give it a try?

The study was published by Sainsbury’s.

— Agencies