The Study
Improvement of Social Isolation and Loneliness and Excess Mortality Risk in People With Obesity
This study looked at a huge group of people over many years and found that those with obesity who had more friends or social contact tended to live longer. But it didn’t make people change their social lives — it just watched what happened. So we can’t say that making friends will definitely save lives, only that people who already had more social contact were less likely to die.
Analysis score
Maximum 72 for a cohort study.
Where the score came from
This study looked at whether people with obesity who have more social contact or feel less lonely live longer than those who are isolated or lonely.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 559 / 100
Quality score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — reducing social isolation could cut the extra death risk from obesity by more than one-third, nearly matching the lifespan of non-obese people.
- 2People with obesity who had the least social isolation lived 26% longer than those with the most isolation.
- 3Those with the least loneliness lived 14% longer, but this link was weaker.
- 4Social isolation was a bigger factor than diet, exercise, or depression in predicting death.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
JAMA Network Open
Year
2024
Authors
Jian Zhou, Rui Tang, Xuan Wang, Xiang Li, Yoriko Heianza, Lu Qi
Related Content
Claims (6)
People who experience prolonged social isolation have a 35% higher chance of dying compared to those who maintain regular social connections.
In adults with obesity, reducing social isolation is associated with a 36% decrease in the higher risk of death linked to obesity, making their mortality risk similar to that of people without obesity.
Among adults with obesity, those who experience less social isolation have a 26% lower risk of dying from any cause, even when accounting for factors like age, income, lifestyle, and existing health conditions.
Among adults with obesity, those who report feeling less lonely have a 14% lower risk of dying from any cause compared to those who feel the most lonely, but this link is not as strong as the link with social isolation and does not always hold up when other factors are taken into account.
Among adults with obesity, social isolation is linked more strongly to the risk of death from any cause than other factors like loneliness, depression, or unhealthy behaviors, and is ranked as the fourth most significant risk factor out of 14 measured.
Among adults with obesity, having little social contact is more closely linked to death from heart disease than feeling lonely, suggesting that the physical absence of social connections may affect heart health in ways different from emotional stress.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.