Eating alone or accompanied, which is better?

As women age, their risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) greatly exceeds that of men due to declining levels of estrogen that regulates vascular function.

This difference arouses the interest of the scientific community, which has been developing different studies to better understand the reasons. Specifically, the factors that influence the increase in this risk.

Now, a new study suggests that eating alone may contribute to an increased risk of heart disease in older women. The results have been published in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS).

Obesity, high blood pressure or heart problems

There has always been a growing awareness of healthy eating habits. But the importance of having an eating partner has been largely overlooked in previous studies, the authors point out.

However, habits are changing and more and more people eat alone. That is one of the reasons that prompted this investigation. With more people eating alone, health concerns have been raised. An earlier study reported that more frequent eating alone is associated with increased risk of abdominal obesity and elevated blood pressure.

When eating alone, people tend to eat faster, which often leads to increases in body mass index, waist circumference, blood pressure, and blood lipid levels, all of which can increase the risk of metabolic syndrome and CVD. Eating alone can also affect mental health and has been reported as a risk factor for depression.

Poorer nutritional knowledge and intake

Researchers in this study, which included nearly 600 menopausal women aged 65 and older, sought to compare health behaviors and nutritional status between older women who ate alone and those who ate with others and investigate the relationship between eating alone and the prevalence of CVD and its risk factors in older women.

Following their analysis, the researchers concluded that older women who ate alone had poorer nutritional knowledge and intake. More specifically, older women who ate alone were found to have lower intakes of energy, carbohydrates, dietary fiber, sodium, and potassium than those who ate with others.

In addition, older women who ate alone were 2.58 times more likely to have angina, a type of chest pain caused by reduced blood flow to the heart and a symptom of coronary artery disease.

Cardiovascular disease screening

These results suggest the value of nutrition education and cardiovascular disease screening for older women who eat primarily alone.

"These results are not surprising given that lower socioeconomic status and social isolation contribute to lower quality of life, higher rates of depression, and poorer health. Given that women live longer than men, finding ways to Engaging older women who are socially isolated and creating meaningful social ties can not only improve their nutrition but also their health while reducing healthcare costs," concludes Stephanie Faubion, NAMS Medical Director.

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