Research maps the UK demographic drinking to ‘dangerous’ levels – is that you?

Men aged between 55 and 74 are the heaviest drinkers in Britain. Many admit to consuming almost four times the recommended weekly limit, a study found.

One in three 65 to 74-year-old men admitted to being blasé about the potential health damage caused by drinking, blaming their habits on ‘boredom’ and quitting work.

The next worst group were men aged 55 to 64, who, although slightly less likely to drink risky amounts, still drank booze most weeks. This age group also reports drinking alcohol three to four days a week.

This is evident from a national online publication questionnaire of 4,763 British 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 men’s loneliness through community projects.

In the study, men and women were asked how much they drank, how often and with whom they drank.

It showed that 20 percent of men between 50 and 75 years old drink alcohol four times a week, compared to only 12 percent of women in the same age category.

Women of all ages were found to drink alcohol less than three times a week on average.

This is despite the recent rise of the so-called ‘wine mum’ culture, where parents use alcohol to ‘get through the day’ or ‘cope with the challenges of motherhood’.

The national online survey of 4,763 British adults aged 18 to 75 asked men and women how much they drank, how often and with whom they drank

The NHS recommends people drink no more than fourteen ‘units’ of alcohol – around six glasses of wine or pints of beer – per week. This has been diluted in recent decades in light of studies illustrating the health hazards of alcohol

The NHS recommends that men and women drink no more than 14 units of alcohol per week (about 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 research shows that 22 percent of men aged 50 to 75 ‘little or never’ think about their mental wellbeing, compared to 14 percent 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 a shrinking social circle.

The findings come as a campaign urges men to socialize and discuss life’s problems outside of an alcohol-fuelled environment.

Former world boxing champion Tony Bellew, who launched the ‘Men on a Mission’ campaign for DRINKiQ and the UK Men’s Sheds Association, said men can lose their purpose in life as they get older and stop other activities.

He warned that this loss of purpose could lead to men spending more time drinking in the pub, or sometimes alone.

He said, “Sometimes men’s sense of mission can diminish as we get older. Your children are growing up. Your work is coming to an end. Maybe we do less.

‘And the time you spend idly can end up being more time on the couch or in the pub. And that’s fine, once or twice a week, but the more we do it, the more it yields.

“When I retired from boxing, I saw the gap that retirement can provide. I left one mission behind – and had to make wellness a mission. We have to grab life by the scruff of the neck.”

Rob Lloyd from UKMSA added: ‘It’s not just about putting together a project – it’s about creating a safe space to talk and support each other as we navigate life’s changes.

“There is a real need for places where men can connect and find new purpose, especially in those later years.”