When Bridget Jones was abandoned, she instantly grabbed a tub of ice cream to ease her pain.
And scientists think they now know why.
Lonely women crave sugary treats because they act as emotional pain relievers, according to a new study that helps explain what drives us to “comfort eat.”
Researchers tested nearly 100 women and showed them photographs of sweet and savory foods.
The loneliest women, as defined by the American team, showed greater brain activity in areas highly linked to food cravings.
When Bridget Jones (pictured) was dumped, she instantly reached for a tub of ice cream to ease her heartache. And scientists think they now know why. Lonely women crave sugary treats because they act as emotional pain relievers, according to a new study that helps explain what drives us to “comfort eat”
Experts at the University of California, Los Angeles, said their findings highlight the “vicious cycle between unhealthy eating and negative mental symptoms.”
They said “holistic approaches” that target both the body and mind to “nourish” a lonely brain should be used to help women break this cycle.
Lead author Dr Xiaobei Zhang added: “If you have more cravings, you eat more and may have more anxiety or depression, which can lead you to eat more.”
Dr. Arpana Gupta, who was also involved in the JAMA Network Open study, said: “How the brain processes loneliness and how it is related to obesity and health outcomes has not been investigated.
“These findings are interesting because they provide evidence for what we know intuitively.
‘When people are lonely or lonely, the impact goes beyond how they feel; they do not report what they eat, their desire to eat and their cravings, especially for unhealthy foods.’
The 93 participating women were questioned about their feelings of loneliness and isolation, as well as their eating habits.
Body composition tests were also performed to estimate their body fat.
The results showed that more socially isolated women had higher levels of body fat, a worse diet, greater cravings, and more uncontrolled eating patterns.
Lonelier participants, according to the study, also reported having more symptoms of anxiety and depression.
They were then shown images of different types of foods, salty or sweet, and non-food objects for comparison.
MRIs recorded their brain activity while they looked at the images.
Lonelier women showed greater activity in the inferior parietal lobe, which is thought to control the desire for sugary foods.
Furthermore, the scans suggested that there was less activity in areas associated with self-control.
The researchers said: «Sweet foods seem to exert a more pronounced and widespread influence compared to salty foods.
“Sweet foods are also very rewarding, with an analgesic effect that can reduce the social pain associated with social exclusion.”
They added: “To nourish or feed the lonely brain, holistic interventions targeting both body and mind to improve overall lifestyle may offer the most effective means of mitigating the complex adverse effects of social isolation.”
Scientists have long warned that loneliness takes years off your life and is even as dangerous as smoking or being overweight.
Research has also found that loneliness increases levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which can lead to unhealthy bloating within the body, weight gain, and insulin resistance that can lead to diabetes.
The results showed that more socially isolated women had higher levels of body fat, a worse diet, greater cravings, and more uncontrolled eating patterns. Lonelier participants, according to the study, also reported having more symptoms of anxiety and depression.
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Approximately 42.6 million adults over the age of 45 in the United States say they feel lonely. A quarter of the population also lives alone.
And around five per cent of adults living in the UK feel lonely “often” or “always”, data from the Office for National Statistics shows.
It comes amid growing concern about ultra-processed foods and the impact they have on health, as foods such as junk food and convenience foods are often high in salt, fat and sugar.
Overall, two-thirds of all British adults are now overweight, compared to just half in the mid-1990s. Of these, a quarter are obese.
The figures for children are not much better. The latest data on childhood obesity in England shows that one in 10 children are too fat by the time they start primary school, a figure which rises to around one in four among those in year six.
The obesity crisis is not only robbing the nation of its health, it is also estimated to be costing us almost £100bn a year.
This figure includes health damage to the NHS, as well as secondary economic effects such as loss of income due to people taking time off work due to illness and premature death.
Experts have asked ministers to confront the crisis, demanding that action be taken against both litter and UPF with the same aggressiveness that the Government has dedicated to tobacco.
Ministers hope a wave of new anti-obesity drugs, such as the weight-loss hit Ozempic, will help turn the tide and get more Brits back to work.