Eating together is linked to higher levels of well-being.

A new study in Scientific Reports shows that people who eat with others more often report, on average, higher subjective well-being. This isn't just a "pleasant tradition," but a statistically significant link between sharing meals and self-assessment, the frequency of positive emotions, and a lower intensity of negative experiences.

The authors used Gallup survey data from 2022-2023 in 142 countries and territories. Participants were asked how many times in the past seven days they had lunch or dinner with someone they knew. This measure proved useful because sharing meals is a common and relatively well-understood practice that can be compared across countries, age groups, and social classes.

The researchers emphasize that the number of times a person shares a meal explains differences in well-being almost as well as some important socioeconomic indicators, including income and unemployment. The link with positive emotions was particularly strong: people who shared meals more often reported more joy, pleasure, and emotional uplift.

However, the study does not prove a direct cause-and-effect relationship. It's not certain that sharing meals automatically makes people happier: perhaps more well-off people are more likely to have social connections and therefore eat with others more often. The authors believe a two-way mechanism is likely: socializing over meals can support well-being, and more well-off people are more likely to maintain such social habits.

Research parameter	What was studied?
Main theme	The association of shared meals with subjective well-being
Magazine	Scientific Reports
Date of publication	April 22, 2026
Countries and territories	142
Main data array	Gallup World Poll, 2022-2023
Additional data array	American Time Use Survey, 2003-2023
DOI	10.1038/s41598-026-46771-9

How the study was conducted

In the first part of the study, the authors analyzed data from the Gallup World Poll. Participants were asked how many days in the past week they had shared lunch and dinner with someone they knew. This allowed them to assess not just abstract "relationship quality," but specific behavior: how often a person actually shared food with others.

The second part of the study used data from the American Time Use Survey from 2003 to 2023. This dataset shows how Americans manage their time throughout the day: what they did, who they were with, and what emotions they experienced. In the context of the new study, this data helped us understand how the habit of eating alone has changed over 20 years.

The authors compared shared meals with several well-being indicators, including general life assessment, positive emotions, and negative emotions. In the global portion of the study, life assessment was measured using the Cantril Life Score, which ranges from 0 to 10 and assesses whether a person's life is "worst possible" or "best possible."

To test whether the association was explained solely by wealth, education, employment, or household size, the authors conducted a multivariate analysis. They controlled for gender, age, education, employment, income, family size, country differences, and even the family's ability to afford food over the past 12 months. After these adjustments, the association between shared meals and well-being remained consistent across almost all regions of the world.

Data source	Period	What did the study give?
Gallup World Poll	2022-2023	A global comparison of the frequency of shared lunches and dinners
American Time Use Survey	2003-2023	Dynamics of single meals in the United States
Day Reconstruction Method	As part of the US analysis	The connection between food and emotions on a particular day
Global Preferences Survey	2012	Additional data on trust, reciprocity and social attitudes

What global data showed

Differences between regions were significant. In Latin America and the Caribbean, people reported an average of approximately nine shared meals per week, while in South Asia, fewer than four. This demonstrates that the social aspects of eating are highly dependent on cultural, family, household, and economic circumstances.

At the country level, Senegal led the way, with residents reporting an average of 11.7 shared meals per week. It was followed by Gambia, Malaysia, and Paraguay, with approximately 11 shared meals per week. Bangladesh and Estonia were at the bottom of the list, with an average of 2.7 shared meals per week.

The researchers found a positive correlation between the number of shared meals and life satisfaction. At the country level, each additional shared meal per week was associated with an approximately 0.2-point increase in life satisfaction on a scale of 0 to 10. The authors note that this is no small difference: such a difference is comparable to approximately 5 positions in the global happiness ranking.

At the individual level, the shift from complete solitude to at least one shared meal was particularly noticeable. People who ate no meals with others for a week had an average life score of 4.9, while those who shared at least one meal had a score of 5.2. The highest average scores were observed among those who ate with others most frequently: with 13 shared meals per week, the average life score reached 6.1.

Indicator	Result
Latin America and the Caribbean	About 9 meals a week together
South Asia	Less than 4 meals a week together
Senegal	11.7 shared meals per week
Bangladesh and Estonia	2.7 shared meals per week
0 shared meals	Average life score: 4.9
1 shared meal	Average life score: 5.2
13 shared meals	Average life score: 6.1

US: More people are eating alone

A separate section of the study focuses on the United States, where the authors tracked changes from 2003 to 2023. Data from the American Time Use Survey showed a steady increase in the number of people who ate all meals alone during the previous day. In 2023, this figure was approximately 26%, or approximately 1 in 4 American adults.

Compared to 2003, this figure has increased by more than 50%. Importantly, this is not solely a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic: the increase began long before 2020 and did not subside after the end of the acute phase of pandemic restrictions. Moreover, in 2023, the proportion of people who ate alone all day was even higher than during the pandemic years.

One obvious factor is the rise in the number of people living alone. In 2023, about 70% of Americans living alone reported eating all their meals alone the previous day. Among those living with others, this figure was lower—about 20%—but it also increased significantly.

The authors calculated that the increase in the number of people living alone explains only 15-20% of the increase in solo meals. In other words, it's not just household composition that's at play. Even among people who live with others, the number of those actually eating alone is increasing.

Indicator for the USA	2003	2023	Change
All adults who ate all meals alone	About 17%	26%	Growth of more than 50%
People living alone	55%	69%	An increase of approximately 25%
People living with others	12%	18%	An increase of approximately 50%
The contribution of the growth of single living	-	-	Explains only 15-20% of the growth in single food intake

Young adults have proven to be a particularly vulnerable group.

The most alarming trend was found among young adults. Although older adults in the US traditionally ate more alone, since 2018, researchers have seen a sharp increase in solo eating across almost all age groups, particularly among those under 35.

For those aged 25-34, the proportion of those who ate all meals alone increased by more than 180% over 20 years. A similarly dramatic change was observed among 18-24-year-olds. This is significant because youth is typically associated with studying, working, making friends, and a more active social life, but actual everyday practices can shift in the opposite direction.

The authors cautiously discuss possible explanations. Smartphones, social media, and the pandemic are often cited in such topics, but the timeline is more complex: the rise in solitary eating began before the pandemic and does not coincide perfectly with the emergence of large digital platforms. Therefore, the researchers do not pin the problem down to a single cause.

The link with well-being in the American part of the analysis was also evident at the level of daily emotions. People who ate at least one meal with others reported higher levels of happiness and lower levels of stress, pain, and sadness that day. This doesn't prove that sharing a meal itself caused the improvement in well-being, but it does make it an important marker of everyday social contact.

Age group	Main conclusion
18-24 years old	A sharp increase in single meals in recent years
25-34 years old	More than 180% growth in 20 years
Over 65 years old	Traditionally, people eat alone more often, but there is also growth
All age groups	Eating alone is more common than it was in 2003.

Why is this important for public health?

In this study, sharing meals is considered not as a dietary recommendation, but as a social indicator. A single meal may be a simple, everyday activity, but it also demonstrates connections, regular communication, support, and inclusion in a social environment. This is why the authors propose that sharing meals can be considered a potentially valuable indicator of social well-being.

The study also found that people who eat with others more often report feeling less lonely and are more likely to say they have someone they can count on in difficult situations. This doesn't mean that every shared meal automatically creates deep relationships, but it may be one simple mechanism for maintaining social connections.

However, the relationship with broader social indicators, such as trust, reciprocity, or altruism, was less clear-cut. The authors suggest that sharing food may be more strongly associated with close support and a sense of "not alone" than with abstract trust in society or institutions.

The practical implications of the study are quite straightforward: if societies want to combat loneliness and the decline of social capital, shared meals can be a simple and relatively inexpensive policy intervention. These could be implemented in schools, universities, workplaces, neighborhoods, and community settings, where food is used not only as a source of nourishment but also as an opportunity for regular human contact.

Possible meaning of the result	Practical meaning
For researchers	Sharing food can be a useful indicator of social connections.
For the public health system	Eating alone may indicate a risk of social isolation.
For schools and universities	Shared meals can keep students engaged
For workplaces	Dining practices can influence the social atmosphere
For urban communities	Shared tables, neighborhood dinners, and local initiatives can reduce isolation

Limitations of the study

The main limitation is causality. The study demonstrates a strong statistical relationship, but does not prove that eating together specifically causes increased happiness. Perhaps people with better emotional well-being are more likely to maintain relationships and therefore eat with others more often.

The second limitation is related to dietary patterns in different countries. Global analyses cannot always accurately account for whether someone skips lunch or dinner. This is especially important for countries and populations experiencing food insecurity: fewer shared meals may reflect not only social isolation but also food insecurity or an irregular eating pattern.

The third limitation is the quality of communication. The study records the very fact of sharing a meal, but it doesn't always reveal whether the meal was warm, supportive, conflictual, formal, or forced. Clearly, a dinner with close friends and a tense family dinner can have different impacts on emotions.

Nevertheless, the study is important because it brings the topic of loneliness and social connections to a very concrete level. It's not about "does a person have social support at all?" but rather "have they eaten with anyone in the last few days?" Such a simple question could prove surprisingly informative for assessing well-being at the level of an individual, family, city, or country.

Brief conclusion

A study by De Neve, Dugan, Kaats, and Prati shows that eating together is strongly associated with higher subjective well-being, a greater frequency of positive emotions, and less loneliness. Of particular importance is not only the act of eating but also its social context: who a person eats with, how often they share this daily ritual with others, and whether eating becomes another area of isolation.

This work is important for science because it offers a simple, understandable, and internationally comparable measure of social connections. For society, it serves as a reminder that sometimes supporting well-being begins not with large-scale programs, but with regular human gatherings around a common table.

News source: De Neve J.-E., Dugan A., Kaats M., Prati A. Sharing meals is associated with greater well-being. Scientific Reports, published April 22, 2026. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-46771-9. The article is currently posted by Nature as an early unedited version of the manuscript, i.e., before final editorial processing.