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Association of mainly vegetarian and vegan diets with loneliness, social isolation and social withdrawal in a German population survey
Understanding the intersection of dietary habits and social factors is crucial in nutritional psychology. This study aimed to analyze how different dietary patterns relate to experiences of loneliness, social isolation, and social withdrawal.
The researchers utilized cross-sectional data from a diverse sample of 5,000 adults in Germany, aged 18 to 74 years. Loneliness was assessed using the De Jong Gierveld tool, while social isolation and withdrawal were measured using the Lubben Social Network Scale and the 25-item Hikikomori Questionnaire, respectively. The participants were categorized by dietary preference: mainly vegetarian, mainly vegan, or omnivorous (neither vegetarian nor vegan).
Results indicated that 15.4% of respondents adhered to a mainly vegetarian diet, with 3.5% following a mainly vegan diet. The overwhelming majority (81.1%) maintained an omnivorous diet. After controlling for sociodemographic, lifestyle, and health-related factors, those on a mainly vegetarian diet exhibited notably higher levels of perceived social isolation and social withdrawal compared to their omnivorous counterparts. Yet, these associations were no longer significant after accounting for mental health variables.
Similarly, individuals adhering to a mainly vegan diet reported greater feelings of isolation and tendencies to withdraw socially compared to omnivores, even in fully adjusted models. Nonetheless, the overall influence of diet type on these social factors was minimal, with an R2 approaching zero and a partial eta2 of less than 0.01, suggesting that dietary patterns have limited practical significance in explaining social well-being. [NPID: Social isolation, loneliness, dietary habbits, vegetarian, vegan, dietary pattern]
Year: 2026
