Men aged between 55 to 74 are the UK’s heaviest drinkers — with many admitting they consume almost four times the recommended weekly limit, a survey revealed.
One in three 65 to 74-year-old men admitted to being blasé about the potential health damage from drinking, blaming their habits on ‘boredom’ and retiring from work.
The next worst group was men aged 55 to 64, who although marginally less likely to drink risky amounts, did drink booze most weeks. This age group also reported drinking alcohol on three or four days a week.
That’s according to a national online survey of 4,763 UK adults aged 18 to 75, conducted by market researcher Ipsos on behalf of the UK Men’s Sheds Association (UKMSA) — a charity that aims to tackle male loneliness through community projects.
The survey asked men and women how much they drank, and how often and who they drank with.
It revealed 20 per cent of men aged 50 to 75 drink alcohol four times a week, in contrast to just 12 per cent of women in that same age bracket.
Women of all ages were found to drink alcohol less than three times a week, on average.
This is despite the recent emergence of so-called ‘wine mum’ culture, which sees parents using alcohol to ‘get through the day’ or ‘cope with the challenges of motherhood’.
The national online survey of 4,763 UK adults aged 18 to 75 asked men and women how much they drank, how often and who they drank with
The NHS recommends people drink no more than 14 ‘units’ of alcohol — around six glasses of wine, or pints of beer — per week. This itself has been watered down over the past few decades in light of studies illustrating the health dangers of alcohol
The NHS recommends men and women drink no more than 14 units of alcohol a week (roughly six pints of beer or six medium glasses of wine).
In addition to drinking habits participants were also asked questions about their mental health and social circles.
The survey found 22 per cent of men aged 50 to 75 ‘hardly ever or never’ think about their mental wellbeing compared to 14 per cent of women.
Men aged 50 to 75 were also less likely to say they felt ‘loved’ when asked about their personal lives, and like other groups of men they also reported having shrinking social circles.
The findings come as a campaign urges men to socialise and discuss life’s problems outside of an alcohol-based environment.
Former boxing world champion Tony Bellew, who launched the ‘Men on a Mission’ campaign for DRINKiQ and the UK Men’s Sheds Association, said men can lose purpose in life as they age and stop other activities.
He warned this loss of purpose can leave men to spend more time drinking in the pub, or sometimes alone.
He said: ‘Sometimes the sense of mission can dwindle for men as we get older. Your kids grow up. Your work winds down. We might do less.
‘And time spent idle might end up being more time on the couch or at the pub. And that’s fine once or twice a week, but the more we do it, the more it adds up.
‘When I retired from boxing, I saw the hole that retirement can leave. I left one mission behind — and needed to make being well a mission. We need to grab life by the scruff of the neck.’
Rob Lloyd, of UKMSA, added: ‘It’s not just about creating a project together — it’s about creating a safe space to talk and support each other as we navigate life’s changes.
‘There’s a real need for places where men can connect and find renewed purpose, especially in those later years.’
