Thursday 21 May 2009

Does looking after parents drive you to drink?


Yes - according to a report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which warns that the amount of alcohol consumed by those between ages 45 and 64 has doubled in less than 15 years.

The difficulties faced by the sandwich generation that may help to cause this increase, include caring for elderly parents as well as children leaving home to go to university and loneliness, are leading them to reach for the bottle, it claims.

While much of the G'ments attempts to curb problem drinking has been directed at the young, alcohol experts are now calling for more attention to be paid to middle-aged and older people regularly exceeding the Government's recommended alcohol limits.

The average number of alcoholic units drunk by 45 to 64-year-olds rose from 5.3 units a week, or two and half standard 175 ml glasses of wine, to 9.8 units, or almost five glasses, between 1992 and 2006, the report found.



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