How the middle-aged now have the biggest drink problem of all

THEY may shake their heads in disapproval at the next generation’s tales of bar crawls and boozy nights out.

But a poll has revealed that middleaged Britons actually drink far more alcohol than their younger counterparts.

According to experts, people aged between 45 and 64 are now the nation’s ‘hidden drinkers’ – regularly ignoring the Government’s recommended limits.

And an audit of the nation’s alcohol consumption showed this generation drinks more frequently and regularly than those in their late teens and early twenties.

While young adults tend to binge once or twice a week, their parents’ generation are more likely to have two or three drinks every day, spreading their consumption out across the week.

The survey, published today in a report by the charity Drinkaware, also revealed that half of middleaged drinkers are living in denial, wrongly thinking it will have no illeffects on their health later in life.

Doctors have warned that middle-aged people are deluding themselves into assuming that ‘moderate’ drinking is harmless, or even has some kind of health benefit.

In fact they believe that older, regular drinkers are actually contributing to increasing rates of obesity, cancer and liver disease.

Elaine Hindal, chief executive of Drinkaware, said: ‘Just because you don’t feel like you are drinking enough to get drunk, doesn’t mean you aren’t damaging your health.

‘In contrast to public perceptions that young adults are more risky drinkers in the UK, in fact over the course of the week, their parents’ generation are drinking more.’

The research comes after the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development revealed this month that middle-class, middleaged British women are top of a global league table for alcohol abuse.

Their report warned that as more women delay motherhood, or choose not to have children at all, they are drinking heavily into their thirties, forties and beyond.

According to Drinkaware, nearly half of 45- to 64-year- olds who drank to excess thought that ‘moderate’ drinking was good for their health. Around 50 per cent believed they would have no health problems caused by alcohol in later life if they continued to drink at a consistent level. And 59 per cent said they did not want guidance about how to reduce their drinking.

The NHS recommends that men drink no more than 21 units a week – around nine pints of beer – and women no more than 14 units, roughly one and a half bottles of wine. According to the Drinkaware Monitor report, based on a poll of 2,300 adults, a third of middle-aged people risk harming their health by breaching Government guidelines.

The report revealed that 32 per cent of those aged between 45 and 64 regularly drink above the recommended weekly limit. In compari- son, just 19 per cent of those aged between 18 and 24 breach the limits. Mrs Hindal said: ‘Our research shows that 45- to 64-year- olds could potentially be sleepwalking into long-term health problems as a result of their drinking patterns.

‘Regularly drinking above the lower risk limits can increase your tolerance to the short-term effects of alcohol – but not to the strain it’s putting on your liver.

‘As your tolerance increases, you’re more likely to drink more. This habitual behaviour could also put you at an increased risk of becoming alcohol dependent.’

Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, chairman of the Alcohol Health Alliance, added: ‘I think people are very quick to pick up on the supposed benefits of drinking just small amounts, and are prepared to take a risk by drinking beyond the recommended limits.

‘This study shows that every decade you go up in age, people are more likely to drink regularly. This is because they have more disposable income, because of availability and because it has become more acceptable to drink at home.’

And GP Dr Sarah Jarvis said: ‘Many middle-aged people have a whole social circle of others who also drink to the same levels, so they do not see their drinking as being in any way abnormal – and become more and more resistant to any advice about their drinking.’