United kingdom prime minister

The United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Theresa May has appointed a "minister of loneliness" to tackle the social and health issues caused by social isolation. As Guardian reports, Tracey Crouch, who most-recently served as minister for both sport and civil society, will lead a cross-governmental group responsible for creating policies to address the growing problem. The New York Times reports that the appointment comes after the release of a report on loneliness last year by the According to Walker reports of the 66 million people crammed onto an island smaller than the state of Michigan about 9 million people report often or always feeling lonely. One study showed about 200,000 elderly people in the U.K. had not had a conversation with a friend or a relative in over a month. Los Angeles Times reports that loneliness is not just a mental condition. Extended feelings of loneliness can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, chronic inflammation and even dementia. It strikes people regardless of age, gender or situation in life. “Loneliness can kill. It’s proven to be worse for health than smoking 15 cigarettes a day,” Mark Robinson, chief officer of the non-profit Age UK Barnet, says in the release. “But it can be overcome and needn’t be a factor in older people’s lives.” Healy reports that many non-profits in the U.K. have begun working on loneliness issues in recent years, especially through work connecting lonely seniors with schools and young families. May says that in...