One in three adults in Ireland describe themselves as lonely or isolated

More than one-in-three adults described themselves as lonely or isolated. Stock Picture: Alamy/PA.

The number of people feeling lonely or isolated has doubled since 2019, according to a new report from Irish Life.

The Health of the Nation 2023 is part of an annual research report that has been carried out each year by Irish Life since 2018, aside from 2021 due to covid-19 restrictions. 

The latest report found that there was a "noticeable decline in overall physical and mental health" despite people believing their health was improving. 

The report showed that while there were many indicators of social health improving compared to pre-covid levels and 2022, the levels of "feeling lonely or isolated are also higher than ever." 

More than one in three adults in Ireland would describe themselves as lonely or isolated, with 75% now reporting they like spending time alone. This is up from 48% in 2019, but down from 76% in 2022. 

Meanwhile, 47% of respondents reported severe or moderate distress - up 6% from 2022. 

Male severe distress levels have increased "significantly" doubling from 14% in 2022 to 21% in 2023. 

Additionally, younger adults, aged between 16-34, were also more likely to be classified as having severe or moderate depression at 40% compared to those aged 35-54 (28%) and 55+(15%).

The report also found that Irish people think they are healthier than they are. A large portion of respondents claimed to eat well and exercise, despite the overall data showing that our health is worsening as a nation.

Further figures in regards to physical health include: 

• 66% of respondents claimed to eat a balanced diet;
• 72% claimed to listen to their body and stopped eating when full - compared to 64% in 2022; 
• 46% claimed to go out of their way to eat a healthy and nutritious diet - compared to 37% the previous year; 
• The average weight has increased by 1.3kg from an average of 78kg in 2018 to 79.3kg in 2023; 
• Overall exercise rates continue to decline with only 13% exercising more than six hours per week - compared to 23% to 2019. 

Professor Niall Moyna from the School of Health and Human Performance at Dublin City University said they are "continuing to see the ramifications of covid with a number of health indicators not yet rebounding to pre-covid levels."

"With an average BMI of 27.4 in 2023, which is classified as ‘overweight’, as a nation we still have a lot of work to do. The health implications of an overweight nation are dire, with obesity being an important risk factor for many chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and some forms of cancer," he said.  

"One of the simplest ways to improve health is to get more exercise, however we’re continuing to see overall exercise rates drop – with only 13% of people exercising more than six hours per week which is down from 23% in 2019, a really noticeable decline.

"It’s a slippery slope and we as a nation need to be taking the necessary precautions to turn our health around.”