Over 9 million people in the UK suffer from loneliness, which can lead to illness and premature death. The appointment of a “loneliness minister” aims to develop a national strategy to address social isolation and its causes. In the US, 42.6 million adults over 45 experience chronic loneliness.
More than nine million people in the UK say their lives are marred by loneliness, with many relationships going days or even weeks without any social interaction. Many of these individuals are elderly and live alone, adrift with dwindling numbers of family and friends. Research has shown that loneliness increases the chances of getting sick, and a 2015 study found that loneliness was linked to premature death. In January 2018, Prime Minister Theresa May appointed a new “loneliness minister” to identify ways to reconnect with this segment of the British population.
“Ah, look at all the lonely people”:
Tracey Crouch, whose official title is Minister for Sport and Civil Society, will develop a national strategy to address social isolation and find ways to quantify alienation and its causes.
Loneliness is known to trigger cellular responses that reduce the body’s ability to fight off viruses and has been linked to a 26% increase in the likelihood of premature death.
In the United States, an estimated 42.6 million adults over the age of 45 admitted to experiencing chronic loneliness in a 2010 study conducted by AARP.
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