Prosecco o’clock… is it Ok to get drunk over 40? the sobering facts

Sharing a glass can be bonding and irresistible, but if you’re tempted to have one too many Proseccos when you’re socialising, could it be time to sober up, asks Louise Court

Life has changed. When we were in our teens and twenties, how often did we watch our mums go out with a group of girlfriends and come home a little worse for wear? It just didn’t happen.

I am not a particularly heavy drinker and I don’t get out-of-control drunk, but I can’t say my fifties have been immune from me arriving home and struggling to get my key in the front door.

Recently a friend dropped by one Sunday afternoon. After several bottles of wine we turned the kitchen into a dance floor, resulting in a sprained ankle for her, hysterical laughter from me, and my 20-year-old son looking on, horrified. I won’t even mention the singing.

If I think back to my mum, much of her socialising was based around coffee mornings, cake and activities like flower-arranging or playing badminton. As anybody who knows me will confirm, while I enjoy copious amounts of coffee and cake, the flowerarranging gene has passed me by and I enjoy meeting friends for a drink. I can happily remain alcohol-free for weeks, sometimes months, but if I have a glass it can easily become a bottle.

If I kept a drink diary I fear the cold, hard facts would have medics branding me a binge drinker. Just writing that down is quite a sobering experience. But I am not alone. It has become part of our everyday culture, with one in 10 women drinking more than recommended, according to Drinkaware. A YouGov survey in 2015 found “empty nester” mothers were at the forefront of the middle-aged drinking epidemic in Britain, with 28% of women over 45 admitting they drank as much or more than their grown-up children. Because they don’t get drunk, they often don’t see it as a problem. Yet every glass of wine or pint of beer over the daily recommended limit will cut half an hour from the expected lifespan of a 40 year old.*

And the latest NHS figures show those aged 55 to 64 are now the most likely to be admitted to hospital because of alcohol-related diseases and injuries.

Think back to Mother’s Day – in the past, gift suggestions were chocolates, perfume and flowers. Now

bottles of Prosecco, craft gin and cocktails make up a huge part of the multimillion pound Mother’s Day marketing campaigns. We all smile at birthday cards and signs with slogans like “It’s not a hangover, it’s wine flu”; “This house runs on love, laughter and Prosecco” or “One Prosecco, two Prosecco, three Prosecco, floor”.

These are gifted to loved ones in an affectionate and knowing way without any stigma or insult intended.

But when does all this stop becoming a joke and turn into something more serious? Even if you don’t have a reliance on booze, the cold, hard fact is that there is a reason we are told not to exceed 14 units a week, in the same way we know it isn’t healthy for us to light up a cigarette.

There is a suggestion that middleaged women’s drinking patterns are a spillover from the ladette culture of the 80s and 90s. We have simply taken those habits into midlife. The trend is also attributed to so many more women having professional careers where drinks after work are seen as the norm. Even if you are no longer leading that office-based lifestyle you become accustomed to knocking back a few glasses in the evening as you help your kids tackle their homework, prepare the evening meal or relax watching TV.

Many more people drink at home, which was unusual 20 or 30 years ago, unless you were having a dinner party. Chucking a few bottles of booze in with the supermarket >>

one in 10 women drink more than is advised drinkaware

55-64 year olds are the most likely to be admitted to hospital because of alcohol-related diseases and injuries nHS digital, 2017/18

shop is now an everyday occurrence.

According to Dr John Larsen, director of evidence and impact for alcohol education charity Drinkaware, one of the causes of our escalating consumption is wanting to be a generous host or hostess.

“It’s part of the British culture to keep topping up glasses and to expect large serving sizes. It’s seen as being a great host to not leave them empty. People want to be hospitable but it may mean some people get to drink larger volumes than they perhaps intended to.”

On the continent it’s more common to serve smaller sizes – in France, for example, a standard glass of wine is 100ml, whereas in Britain it’s 175ml for a medium. It’s important because serving size influences how much and how quickly people consume. At social gatherings, far more thought goes into the booze than tempting soft drinks or homemade non-alcoholic cocktails. “We need to give the message it is OK not to drink – it doesn’t mean you’re not fun or a great guest, or a poor host,” Dr Larsen emphasises.

So what are the risks associated with drinking too much, especially as we get older? Unfortunately they make for pretty grim reading. It’s tougher for our bodies to process alcohol as we get older and it increases the risk of getting illnesses such as breast, liver, bowel, mouth and oesophageal cancer. Drinking heavily or binge drinking can also increase the risks of dementia.

28% of women over 45 drank as much or more than their grown-up children