More than a quarter of young adults in the UK do not drink alcohol – in data

Young adults in the UK are more likely to be teetotallers than their older counterparts, according to figures released this week. More than a quarter of 16- to 24-year-olds do not drink, compared with just over a fifth of the broader adult population.

Last year, just under 21% of people surveyed in England, Scotland and Wales said they did not drink alcohol, equivalent to around 10.6 million adults aged 16 or over. That’s two percentage points higher than in 2005, when the ONS first collected data on alcohol consumption.

But the proportion of 16- to 24-year-olds who say they do not drink has accelerated at almost four times that pace. Ten years ago, 19% of young adults said they did not drink alcohol, compared with 27% last year.

Conversely, teetotalism among those aged 65 and over is falling: in 2005, almost 30% of people in that age category said they did not drink; last year, it was 25%.

But while people in the youngest age group (16-24) are increasingly likely to be teetotal, drinkers in this age category were also more likely to binge drink – defined as men who exceed eight units of alcohol on their heaviest drinking day, and women who exceed six units.

When teetotallers are excluded, women aged between 16 and 24 were more likely than any other group to have binged in the week prior to the survey: 41% admitting to doing so, compared with 34% of men of the same age.

More generally, the proportion of adults who say they drink alcohol is at its lowest level since 2005. In 2016, just under 57% of Britons surveyed said they had drunk alcohol in the previous week, compared to almost two thirds (64.2%) in 2005.

In its commentary, the ONS noted that drinking behaviour is likely to be impacted by characteristics such as culture and ethnicity: the wider survey found that teetotalism is lower among white respondents (15.7%) than all other ethnic groups (56%).

alcohol use in the UK – in data

More than a quarter of young adults in the UK do not drink alcohol – in data

Quarter of adults in England "get less than half hour of exercise a week"

One in four adults in England get less than 30 minutes of exercise a week, with women more likely to be inactive, a report shows.

NHS Digital’s annual review of obesity in England also found high levels of obesity among adults and children, with only around a quarter of adults eating the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.

Twenty six per cent of all adults were classified as inactive (undertaking fewer than 30 minutes of physical activity a week), with women more likely to be inactive (27%) than men (24%).

People who are long-term unemployed or who have never worked are most likely not to take exercise (37%), compared with 17% of those in professional and managerial jobs.

Almost a third of people in South Tyneside, Leicester, Barking and Dagenham and Rochdale are deemed to be inactive, while the lowest rates of inactivity were found in Wokingham (13%) and Brighton and Hove (14%), the report said.

In 2015, 58% of women and 68% of men in England were overweight or obese. Obesity has risen from 15% of adults in 1993 to 27% in 2015.

The prevalence of morbid obesity has more than tripled since 1993, affecting 2% of men and 4% of women in 2015.

The report also revealed high numbers of overweight children, with more than one in five in reception class (aged four to five) being overweight or obese in 2015-16, rising to more than one in three for children in year 6.

On Thursday, Public Health England (PHE) published new voluntary targets for the food industry to reduce sugar levels by 20% by 2020 in nine categories of food popular with children.

The NHS Digital report found that only 26% of adults ate the recommended five portions of fruit or vegetables a day in 2015: 47% of men and 42% of women ate fewer than three portions a day. But 52% of 15-year-olds said they hit the recommended five a day.

The data also showed there were 525,000 hospital admissions in England in 2015-16 where obesity was recorded as a factor. Two in three patients, or 67%, were female.

The data revealed, too, that 6,438 weight-loss surgical procedures were carried out.

A spokesman for the Obesity Health Alliance, a coalition of more than 40 health charities, campaign groups and medical colleges, said: “As waistlines increase, so do the chances of developing life-threatening conditions like Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer, putting further strain on our already overstretched health service.

“This data is a stark reminder of exactly why we need measures like the sugar reduction programme and the soft drinks industry levy to help create a healthier environment for all.”

Dr Justin Varney, Public Health England’s national lead for adult health and wellbeing, said: “We need many more adults and children to be more physically active. Little and often makes a big difference – just 10 minutes extra walking each day can improve a person’s health and their overall quality of life.”

Chris Allen, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: “Being inactive can dramatically increase your risk of having a deadly heart attack or stroke.

“But the good news is that it’s never too late to start being more active, which can help you control your weight, reduce blood pressure and cholesterol and improve your mental health.

“The recommended 150 minutes of physical activity a week may seem like a lot, but you can break it down into 10-minute sessions and gradually build up.”

Quarter of adults in England "get less than half hour of exercise a week"

Pollution responsible for a quarter of deaths of young children, says WHO

Pollution is responsible for one in four deaths among all children under five, according to new World Health Organisation reports, with toxic air, unsafe water and and lack of sanitation the leading causes.

The reports found polluted environments cause the deaths of 1.7 million children every year, but that many of the deaths could be prevented by interventions already known to work, such as providing cleaner cooking fuels to prevent indoor air pollution.

“A polluted environment is a deadly one – particularly for young children,” says Dr Margaret Chan, director-general of the WHO. “Their developing organs and immune systems – and smaller bodies and airways – make them especially vulnerable to dirty air and water.”

The harm from air pollution can begin in the womb and increase the risk of premature birth. After birth, air pollution raises the risk of pneumonia, a major cause of death for under fives, and of lifelong lung conditions such as asthma. It may also increase the risk of heart disease, stroke and cancer in later life.

Children play on an open stove used for smelting woods at an unregulated charcoal factory in Manila, Philippines. Photograph: Ted Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images

The reports present a comprehensive review of the effect of unhealthy environments and found 570,000 children under five-years-old die each year from respiratory infections such as pneumonia, while another 361,000 die due to diarrhoea, as a result of polluted water and poor access to sanitation.

The WHO estimates that 11–14% of children aged five years and older currently report asthma symptoms, with almost half of these cases related to air pollution. It also suggests that the warmer temperatures and carbon dioxide levels linked to climate change may increase pollen levels, making asthma worse.

“Investing in the removal of environmental risks to health will result in massive health benefits,” said Dr Maria Neira, WHO director of environmental and social determinants of health. For example, tackling the backyard recycling of electrical waste would cut children’s exposure to toxins which can cause reduced intelligence and cancer.

In October, the UN’s children’s agency Unicef made the first global estimate of children’s exposure to air pollution and found that almost 90% – 2 billion children – live in places where outdoor air pollution exceeds WHO limits. It found that 300 million of these children live in areas with extreme air pollution, where toxic fumes are more than six times above the health guidelines.

The WHO announced in May that air pollution around the world is rising at an alarming rate, with virtually all cities in poorer nations blighted by unhealthy air and more than half of those in richer countries also suffering.

Pupils from Bowes primary school in Enfield, north London, protesting about levels of air pollution outside their school. Photograph: Chris Radburn/PA

Research in 2015 revealed that more than 3 million people a year die early because of outdoor air pollution, more than malaria and HIV/Aids combined. Chan told the BBC on Monday that air pollution is “one of the most pernicious threats” facing global public health today and is on a much bigger scale than HIV or Ebola.

Pollution responsible for a quarter of deaths of young children, says WHO

A quarter of young men self-harm to cope with depression, says survey

One in four young men are turning to self-harm as a result of depression, anxiety and stress, according to a YouGov poll.

Of the 500 men aged 16 to 24 surveyed, 24% said they had intentionally hurt themselves. The poll commissioned by three leading youth charities – the Mix, Self-Harm UK and Young Minds – also found a further 22% said they had considered self-harming.

Many said that when they felt under pressure they would turn to exercising excessively, controlled eating, pulling out their hair, punching walls and abusing drugs. When asked how they cope with stress, 21% admitted to drinking heavily, while 19% said they had punched walls and 16% admitted to controlled eating.

Experts say the figures are further evidence that self-harm is not confined to young women. They support NHS figures obtained by the Guardian last year which showed a sharp rise in hospital admissions for self-harm over the past decade.

The charities said the figures may be even greater, as many young men are unaware some of their negative behaviour is self-harm.

Chris Martin, chief executive at The Mix, a charity for under-25s, said: “What’s shocking about these results is the percentage of young men who are self-harming. Lately, we’ve seen a rise in young men accessing our mental health content, services and self-help tools.”

Chris Curtis, the chief executive of Self-Harm UK, said the issue needed to be urgently addressed “to help teenage boys deal constructively with the pressures they face”.

Dr Marc Bush, senior policy adviser at Young Minds, said: “Young men can find it hard to express their emotions because they need to be with the lads and have a sense of belonging. But they can have lots of issues with self-esteem and then have difficulty processing their emotions.”

Bush noted that many young men struggle with self-esteem issues due to the pressure to have a certain type of body. “Ten years ago we were worried about starvation, over-exercise and yo-yo dieting among women, but now we are seeing this in men. Young men think that these bodies are achievable and are doing anything to get them.”

Bush said some men become obsessed about exercise to cope with anxiety, working out to the point of doing physical damaging. “There are cases of men over-exercising and acquiring an injury and then carrying on despite their body saying ‘you’re hurting me’. Lots of young men in their 30s and 40s have done damage that way so they cannot do sports that they used to. Over-exercise can be a injurious activity.”

He added that more needed to be done to raise awareness about men’s mental health concerns, so young people can to talk about their experiences and learn ways to cope.

James Downs, 27, from Cardiff, turned to controlled eating and over-exercising to deal with difficult emotions as a teenager.

He said: “I started to retreat more and more into my eating problems and self-harming behaviours as a way of avoiding having to cope with my feelings. It was to numb the emotional pain I felt with physical pain.Things got so bad that I lost my friends, had to leave school and gave up my university place. I felt like I was a failure and this only made my damaging behaviour worse.

“Instead of blaming myself and isolating myself with my feelings I wish that I had been able to open up to others without feeling ashamed. Mental health and self harm weren’t topics that were ever mentioned in school or at home. They weren’t on the radar and that there needs to be much greater awareness and openness of these issues so that people don’t have to cope alone.”

The survey findings come after a dramatic rise in the number of children and young people self-harming in the past 10 years. There have been major rises among boys and girls.

An NSPCC spokesperson said: “A frightening number of children and young people are being driven to self-harm as a way of dealing with unresolved feelings, tensions and distress in their lives. Last year 18,778 children and young people in England and Wales were admitted to hospital for treatment for self inflicted injuries – a 14% increase over the last three years.

Sir Simon Wessely, of the Royal Psychological Society said it was worrying that reliable data also showed rates of self-harm among young men steadily increasing since 2000.

Downs said: “Life for a young person today is full of challenges that our parents didn’t have to experience. It’s fast paced, competitive and puts immense demands on our ability to remain resilient and cope in positive ways.”

A quarter of young men self-harm to cope with depression, says survey

Quarter of a million children receiving mental health care in England

Almost a quarter of a million children and young people are receiving help from NHS mental health services for problems such as anxiety, depression and eating disorders, figures show.

The scale of the growing crisis in young people’s mental wellbeing is laid bare with the disclosure that 235,189 people aged 18 and under get specialist care, according to data covering 60% of mental health trusts in England.

Sarah Brennan, the chief executive of the mental health charity Young Minds, said: “It’s staggering that so many children and young people are in need of specialist mental health care. These figures should act as a wake-up call.”

The Guardian reveals the figures for the first time at the start of a two-day series prompted by rapidly accumulating evidence that growing numbers of children, teenagers and young adults are being afflicted by debilitating psychological and psychiatric ailments.

Among the 235,189 young people who were in contact with mental health services in June were 11,849 boys and girls aged five and under, and 53,659 aged between six and 10. Just over 100,000 patients were 11 to 15, and 69,505 were 16 to 18.

Contrary to some experts’ expectations, the total comprised more boys (130,395) than girls (104,522).

NHS Digital, the health service’s statistical arm, began collating the figures in January. The numbers for the whole of England would be higher as 40% of mental health trusts did not provide data.

Experts blame growing pressures on the young, including the need to excel academically, look good and be popular, as well as poverty and family breakdown for the growing burden of mental illness in school-age children and young adults. An NHS inquiry found last week that self-harm and post-traumatic stress disorder had risen sharply in young women aged 16 to 24 in recent years.

Azia, 17, from West Yorkshire, went to her GP in 2014 for help with problems including anxiety and depression. “I had been feeling hopeless and helpless, tearful, with no motivation or interest in doing anything,” she said. “I was not getting any enjoyment out of life and had suicidal thoughts. From around the age of 13, I also experienced anxiety. The physical symptoms were headaches, soreness in my limbs, bloatedness, sweats and shivers, loss of libido and increased sleeping.”

Azia, who has received cognitive behavioural therapy from NHS children and adolescent mental health services, said she was doing much better but still needed help. Her anxiety meant her family could not do things like go on holiday, she said.

“There’s a lot more pressure now on young kids to get excellent grades and go to university. It can make these feelings worse. Also, sometimes it feels like adults think that when you’re young you can’t have anything really serious going on. It makes it harder to speak to people about it.”

The figures have sparked calls for ministers, schools and the NHS to do much more to prevent, identify and treat mental disorders in young people.

Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, said the extra £1.4bn that the government had pledged to improve support for troubled children during this parliament was funding an expansion of services so that the increasing numbers seeking help could get access.

“Tackling the problems of mental ill health in children and young people is a priority for this government and I welcome the Guardian’s focus on this important area,” he said. New waiting time standards for treatment for eating disorders and early intervention in episodes of psychosis would help ensure that the £1.4bn got to the areas of greatest need, Hunt added.

Childline said it saw a significant rise in calls about young people’s mental health in 2015-16 and conducted 92,891 counselling sessions – by telephone, email and social media – as a result. Of those, 19,481 contacts were about young people who were thinking about ending their own lives – double the numbers received five years ago. It conducts an average of 53 suicide counselling sessions a day – more than one every 30 minutes.

Luciana Berger, a former shadow cabinet minister for mental health and now president of the Labour campaign for mental health, said: “These new figures shine a spotlight on the extent of the demand for mental health treatment, particularly when we know there are thousands of children who are being turned away because thresholds to access services are out of reach for too many.”

NHS England said: “We know that increasing numbers of children and young people are accessing mental health services across the country. It’s an absolute priority for us that these vulnerable children and young people are provided with the best services possible and the additional £1.25bn, which started to go into the NHS in 2015, is helping us to kickstart this upgrade in care.”

• In the UK, Childline can be contacted on 0800 1111 and the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14. Hotlines in other countries can be found here.

Quarter of a million children receiving mental health care in England

Flu jab could cut chance of stroke by quarter

“Our study showed a highly important association in between flu vaccination and lowered chance of stroke inside of the identical flu season. The outcomes have been consistent with our preceding study into heart attack chance.”

The review analysed the data of far more than 47,000 stroke individuals amongst 2001 and 2009 and in contrast them to a related quantity of people in a handle group.

They found flu vaccination was connected with a 24 per cent reduction in danger of stroke when all other variations have been accounted for.

The reduction was strongest if the vaccination was given early in the flu season.

Professor Siriwardena additional: “Even more experimental studies would be necessary to greater comprehend the partnership in between flu vaccination and stroke threat.

“Nevertheless, these findings reinforce the value of the UK’s nationwide flu vaccination programme with diminished threat of stroke appearing to be an extra overall health benefit.”

In the Uk the seasonal flu vaccination is recommended for everybody in excess of 65 many years of age and other at-threat groups, such as these with disabilities or persistent illnesses.

Take-up of the vaccine across England is lower than national targets at 74 per cent for more than-65s in 2011/12 and close to 52 per cent for beneath-65s in at-threat groups.

Their findings are reported in the scientific journal Vaccine.

Flu jab could cut chance of stroke by quarter

A quarter of young girls are "embarrassed" to have cervical cancer smear exams

Jo’s Believe in is operating Cervical Cancer Prevention Week from 19 to 25 January to raise awareness of the illness and the value of screenings.

The charity has launched a campaign, Place By yourself In The Picture, which aims to put females in the picture on why they want to attend cervical screening.

Robert Music, chief executive of Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, explained: “Every day in the Uk, eight girls are diagnosed with cervical cancer and almost 3 die of the illness. A cervical screening test only takes five minutes but could save a woman’s lifestyle.

“With uptake for cervical screening declining we want to put females in the picture when it comes to cervical cancer prevention and reverse this downward trend. Sadly we support too a lot of ladies who have had to go by way of a lot more invasive treatment due to a later diagnosis which might have been prevented had the lady attended screening when invited.”

The campaign asks girls to upload a selfie into a personalised digital image frame on the Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust web site or Facebook web page, share it with close friends and family members and pledge to attend cervical screening.

It is supported by Fresh Meat’s Sara Stewart, who stated: “Having had breast cancer myself, I have come to realise the significance of early diagnosis – the place mammograms are there to detect breast cancer, cervical screening is essential for helping girls, the two younger and old, to catch cervical abnormalities early just before they produce into anything a lot more serious.”

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland all women in between the ages of 25 and 64 are eligible for cervical screening. In Scotland screening is at present amongst the ages of twenty and 60 and will be raised to 25-64 in 2015.

Ideas for attending a cervical screening:

· Very first time or nervous? Tell the sample taker.

· Anxious about discomfort? Inquire the sample taker to use a smaller speculum.

· Feeling embarrassed? Wear a skirt as you can preserve this on throughout the check.

· Consider to unwind and distract your thoughts.

· Do not want to go alone? Get a pal to wait in the waiting room with you.

· Not positive what to anticipate? Go to the Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust site or call their helpline (0808 802 8000).

A quarter of young girls are "embarrassed" to have cervical cancer smear exams

Quarter of Britons give up alcohol in January, says poll

Wine drinkers at a central London pub: a single in six polled mentioned they had already broken their new year’s resolution to stop drinking. Photograph: Cathal Mcnaughton/PA

A quarter of Britons have stopped drinking alcohol in January, even though practically a half intend to cut down on their normal consumption, a survey has proven.

Funds-conserving site Vouchercloud polled just below 2,000 individuals. The majority – 56% – said they have been “going dry” to save funds, whilst other people stated it was to enhance their wellness. Fewer than half thought they would last the whole month with out consuming, although one in 6 stated they had currently broken their new year’s resolution to appreciate a tipple.

Virtually a quarter – 23% – claimed they were doing it to show willpower and 19% explained it was because “no one particular else drank in January”..

Alcohol Concern and Cancer Research Uk are encouraging Britons to end consuming alcohol in January.

Meanwhile, supermarkets have reported powerful revenue of reduced alcohol wines and beer this month. Because 2010, Sainsbury’s revenue of wines that incorporate ten.5% alcohol by volume or significantly less have grown by virtually 26%. Tesco has reported that demand for packs of lower and no alcohol beers has risen by thirty% given that the starting of January, and 45% in the past yr compared with the preceding 12 months, with 33m bottles offered. The supermarket believes demand will soar by a more 30% this yr as a lot more lower alcohol beers come on to the market place above the following handful of months.

Olivia Christou, a specialist beer purchaser for Tesco, mentioned the reputation of low alcohol beer was down to a “significant improvement in the taste and basic quality”. “They have proved so well-liked with drinkers that many of the main breweries are launching more beers this year,” she mentioned.

Quarter of Britons give up alcohol in January, says poll