Edinburgh least lonely capital city in UK

Picture: Edinburgh residents are the least lonely of all the UK's capital cities

More than half of residents in Scotland’s capital (52 per cent) said that they don’t ever have feelings of loneliness.

The city beat off competition from the likes of Cardiff, Belfast and London.

More than half (55 per cent) of people in Glasgow say they feel lonely. Those in Aberdeen suffered the most from loneliness with 60 per cent experiencing the emotion a some point.

Bradford and Belfast fare the worst in the survey with 56 per cent of residents claiming to feel the angst of loneliness at some point.

The survey took into consideration 2,000 across the UK and showed that, as a whole, only 44 per cent of people don’t feel lonely.

The number of people feeling lonely has been linked to social change taking place across the nation such as increasing numbers of single occupancy households and marriage breakdowns.

According the National Office of Statistics, over a third of marriages end before the 20th wedding anniversary.

Loneliness has been reported as being twice as bad for health as obesity by a professor at the University of Chicago and can trigger a sense of despair along with mental health problems such as depression and anxiety.

The Co-op is aiming to tackle this problems through a two-year campaign in partnership with the British Red Cross. Their goal is to raise £3.5 million to tackle the issue.

Richard Pennycook, the Co-op’s Group Chief Executive said: “Whilst Edinburgh has fared well in our research, loneliness is a problem that does not discriminate. It affects young and old, fit and unwell, those living in cities, but also those living in rural communities. Our partnership with the British Red Cross will see us raise the profile of loneliness and highlight the impact it has day-in-and-day-out on people’s lives.”