A study from the Kennedy School in the United States suggests that shared meals can be a better measure of wellbeing than income. According to a study that was included in the annual World Happiness Report, people who have meals with others are more likely to show pleasant emotions and to be happier with their life.
The findings’ authors claim that, across all age groups, genders, nations, cultures, and faiths, sharing meals is as indicative of happiness as having a job or having money.
According to the survey, around one in four Americans reported eating all of their meals by themselves the day before in 2023, which is “an average increase of 53 percent since 2003.” All age groups are affected by this tendency, although young people see the most severe decline.
The study indicates a high relationship between happiness and the number of meals shared, but it makes no mention of whether sharing meals leads to happiness or whether happy people share more meals.
“In all likelihood, I would be willing to put money on both being true,” but which of those factors is stronger is definitely a task for future research”, Micah Kaats, a doctoral student in public policy at Harvard Kennedy School who co-wrote the report said.
It is difficult to determine what a one or ten would represent for any one person on a given day, according to Kaats, when researchers ask participants to estimate their own pleasure on a scale of 1 to 10.
Researchers frequently employ income, insurance rates, and other variables that have demonstrated substantial correlational linkages to well-being as proxies, even though social scientists and policymakers may find value in these subjective assessments. However, it is frequently difficult to quantify these characteristics alone.
“A lot of people don’t want to report their income,” Kaats said. “Those who do want to report their income are a select group.” From there, it’s difficult to tell the accuracy of what’s being reported, the exact type of income one might report (Pretax? Household? Posttax?), and how incomes can be compared between countries and over time.
Kaats hopes to explore whether sharing meals makes people happier in the future. In any case, he thinks that the relationship between happiness and shared meals is significant in and of itself.
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Shared meals may serve as a source of policy intervention as well as a significant indication of well-being as researchers and policymakers grapple with deteriorating mental health and growing social isolation.
“We can’t solve every problem at once,” Kaats said, “but if we can get people to share more meals with each other, and that would improve people’s well-being, it’s a good place to start.”
