Adults in England who reported bad or very bad health are more than three times as likely to report feeling lonely than those with good or very good health.
Adults in England who reported bad or very bad health are more than three times as likely to report feeling lonely than those with good or very good health.
Published by NHS England today, the 1 reports on the nation's health and surveyed 5,880 adults about a variety of topics including their health, physical activity and gambling.
Three in five adults (62%) reporting bad or very bad health said they felt lonely2 at least some of the time compared to one in five (18%) with good or very good health.
The report also found that more than three quarters of adults (77%) reported good or very good general health.
Seven in ten men (70%) and six in ten women (59%) met the 2011 aerobic guidelines for weekly physical activity3.
One in ten adults (10%) reported having participated in online gambling (excluding the National Lottery and other lotteries) during the last 12 months4.
For most of 2021, interviews were carried out by telephone, rather than in person because of COVID-19 pandemic precautions. As a result of these changes in data collection, findings from 2021 are not directly comparable with those from previous years.
Loneliness:
In 2021, 18% of those who reported good or very good health reported that they felt lonely at least some of the time.
This proportion increased to 35% of those with fair health and to 62% of those with bad or very bad health.
More than one in five people in England (22%) reported feeling lonely at least some of the time.
27% of adults reported that they never felt lonely whereas 6% reported that they often or always felt lonely (chronic loneliness).
Adult health:
77% of adults reported good or very good general health. 6% reported bad or very bad health.
40% of adults had at least one longstanding illness or condition5. This included a higher proportion of women (43%) than men (37%).
Gambling:
50% of adults reported having participated in some form of gambling activity (including the National Lottery and other lotteries) in the last 12 months. Among those who had gambled, their Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI)6 scores identified 5.8% as engaging in at-risk or problem gambling
10% of adults reported having participated in online gambling (excluding the National Lottery and other lotteries) during the last 12 months. For these adults, their PGSI scores identified 18.2% as engaging in at-risk or problem gambling.
People who had gambled and spent money on four or more different gambling activities in the last 12 months were more likely to engage in at-risk or problem gambling (27.8%) than those who gambled on two or three different activities (4.6%) or only one activity (1.6%).
Physical activity:
A higher proportion of men (70%) than women (59%) aged 16 and over met the 2011 aerobic guidelines of at least 150 minutes of moderate activity, 75 minutes of vigorous activity or equivalent per week.
Levels of aerobic activity varied by areas, with those living in more deprived areas7 being less likely to have met the guidelines. The proportion of adults meeting the 2011 aerobic guidelines was lowest (53%) in the most deprived area quintile and highest in the least deprived area quintile (68%) and in the second least deprived quintile (70%).
The Health Survey for England is commissioned by NHS England and carried out by the National Centre for Social Research in conjunction with UCL, which co-authors the report.
Read the full report
Notes for Editors
- The Health Survey for England series provides information about adults aged 16 and over, and children aged 0 to 15, living in private households in England. It estimates the proportion of people in England who have health conditions and the prevalence of risk factors and behaviours associated with certain health conditions and how prevalence varies within the population. The surveys provide regular information that cannot be obtained from other sources. A total of 5,880 adults (aged 16 and over) were interviewed in the 2021 survey. Findings about children are not included in this publication because of low sample numbers within different age groups. The sample is designed to represent the whole population as accurately as possible within practical constraints, such as time and cost. Consequently, statistics based on the survey are estimates, rather than precise figures, and are subject to a margin of error. The sample who take part in the survey is weighted to provide statistics that are representative of the population. For further details see the methods report.
- The HSE in 2021 included the Office for National Statistics' direct measure of loneliness in the self-completion questionnaire, which asks participants: ‘How often do you feel lonely?' Participants were asked to respond on a five-point scale with categories ‘Never', ‘Hardly ever', ‘Occasionally', ‘Some of the time' and ‘Often or always'.
- To meet 2011 aerobic guidelines: respondents reported at least 150 minutes/week of moderate physical activity, at least 75 minutes/week of vigorous physical activity, or an equivalent combination of the two, in sessions of 10 minutes or more.
- Questions about gambling were included in the self-completion booklet to ensure that they could be answered in confidence. The questionnaire asked about participation in the last 12 months in 19 different types of gambling. Online gambling refers to any gambling online, apart from National Lottery draws, for example online poker, bingo, instant win / scratchcard games, slot machine style games or casino games for money and online betting with a bookmaker. Questions about participation in lotteries did not specify whether participation was online or offline, so these are excluded from the online category. For further details, please see:
- Longstanding illnesses or conditions are those which affect the body or mind for 12 months or longer. For further details please see:
- The survey used the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) screening tool to identify whether respondents who had gambled within the last 12 months were engaging in at risk or in problem gambling. The PGSI consists of nine items ranging from ‘chasing losses' to ‘gambling causing health problems' to ‘feeling guilty about gambling'. A total score can range from 0 to 27. Each item is assessed on a four-point scale: never (score 0), sometimes (score 1), most of the time (score 2), almost always (score 3). A total score of 1 or more for PGSI is indicative of at-risk gambling. A score of 1 to 2 is considered low risk and a score of 3 to 7 is considered moderate risk. A score of 8 or more for PGSI is indicative of problem gambling.
- Area deprivation was defined by using the English Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) which is a measure of the overall area deprivation experienced by people living in a neighbourhood based on 37 indicators. To enable comparisons, areas are classified into quintiles (fifths). For further information about the IMD, please see: