A new study conducted by psychologists at Brigham Young University has revealed about the concept of a healthy life.

According to the researchers, social isolation and solitude can be a cause of premature death. Although older people are more prone to feeling lonely and possess a higher risk of mortality, social isolation and solitude can also cause early death in people who are less than 65 years old.

Other studies conducted on the same issue indicated that for sound emotional health, social interaction is important as it improves physical health on a physiological level.

The lead of the study Julianne Holt-Lunstad analyzed the data from 70 studies conducted between 1980 and 2014. She surveyed over 3 million patients and checked differences regarding sex, age, social status, economic and health condition.

The findings revealed that loneliness and social isolation cause premature death and an active social life benefits a person’s health condition. However, she also acknowledged that the age range was not so extended and it included mostly adults of older age.

Her research team only analyzed 9% subjects that were younger than 50. Despite the age limit on the surveyed participants, Holt-Lunstad believes the study is conclusive enough to alert people about a potential danger of social isolation in today’s digital world.

Holt-Lunstad said that loneliness can be compared to obesity. However, according to her, obesity is treated as a serious health condition, whereas social relationships are not.

Therefore, a person’s social life should also be taken as seriously as obesity. She added that the risk of premature mortality is higher in the case of socially isolated persons than in the case of obese ones.

The researchers said that healthy lifestyle includes no-smoking, no-drinking as well as a healthy social life.