Half of men over 65 are drinking every day

MEN grow out of binge drinking at 25 – only to become regular boozers in middle age, according to researchers.

More than half of men over 65 drink daily or most days as GPs warn they are seeing a rising number of elderly men with drink problems or ill health caused by alcohol.

The University College London study found men’s consumption of alcohol peaks at 25 – when they down the equivalent of ten pints of beer a week.

Teenage boys and girls favour bouts of heavy drinking, but as they grow older a difference in drinking behaviour develops.

Although both sexes drink less than when younger, a substantial proportion of older men drink daily or most days of the week.

A majority of women tend to drink monthly or on special occasions, the study in the journal BMC Medicine revealed.

Researcher Dr Annie Britton said: ‘Frequent drinking – daily or most days of the week – became more common in middle to old age, most notably among men, reaching above 50 per cent in men aged 65. I wasn’t shocked to see that alcohol volume changes over the life course, but the high proportion of older men drinking daily is a bit alarming.

‘It raises concerns that they are becoming dependent on alcohol and there are risks in this age group mixing alcohol with medications.’