London: A recent study showed that loneliness was as dangerous to health as obesity or smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
Experts said that being alone could hasten dementia and increase the risk of heart disease and high blood pressure.
The research by WRVS, a charity helping older people, identified nearly 400,000 elderly people who said they had children who were too busy to see them.
Research revealed that 10 per cent of 65-year-old people or of more age were badly affected by loneliness.
Nearly 600,000 elderly people admitted that they left their house less than once a week while more than 250,000 said that TV was their only companion, ANI reported.
The more away children live from their elderly parents the worse the situation becomes.
The WRVS research showed that for ten per cent of parents over 75, their nearest child lives more than an hour drive away. And of those, almost half visited only once every two to six months.
WRVS chief executive David McCullough said that even on Christmas, many old people are alone. The organisations urge everyone to join the lonely people on the festival.
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