To think 87.3% of British women don't drink less than me?

[theduchessstill]

I went on one of those sites where they track and evaluate your drinking - was inspired to do so by another thread. I know I drink a bit too much - across three nights I have a bottle of wine and often a couple of bottles of lager or another glass or 2 of wine.

The site calculated it as 16 units - I knew it would be there or thereabouts so no great shock there, but then said that 87.3% of British women drink less. I find that hard to believe. Who is buying all the wine then? There are people who are alcoholics, people who drink small - medium amounts every night, people who have a massive blow-out every week etc etc.

Surely we don't have a massive problem with alcohol in this country (and we do) if the vast majority of women drink less than me, who drinks slightly over the maximum amount recommended. In particular, I understood women's drinking was of particular concern.

I'm not looking for validation - I know the amount I have is a bit too much but I'm happy enough with it atm, but that figure seemed unlikely to me.

Another non-drinker here, where I work virtually none of the women drink (religious and health reasons), and in my social group only two do, so I believe that statistic

It's quite hard to get data, OP, because a lot of it is self-reported but this here from drink aware site says that 21% of women in England reported as being teetotal and a further 64% reported drinking no more than 14 units a week, so that would get you up to 85% of English women drinking 14 units or under.

But that doesn't sit true with this article in the Torygraph, admittedly from 2011 and based on 2005 figures and also referring to 'Britons' rather than England, states that the per capita consumption of alcohol for everyone over 15 in the UK amounts to 1337 units of alcohol per year, so 25.7 a week!

This figure doesn't strip out teetotallers, so the actual average per capita consumption of those who do drink is higher, though men are much higher than women, which I think makes the average women per capita figure equate to about 18 units per week. This is the link

hmm not sure but I bet the self-reported figures in drink aware are very much underestimated.

who drinks slightly over the maximum amount recommended

Uh, no amount of alcohol is "recommended".

Also, I only have a glass or two of champagne at special events, so you're definitely drinking more than me (although obviously most people do). But I would say your drinking is above the level of most people I know.

I don't really drink, I'm not teetotal, I'm just not bothered about it, I don't really like the taste and it's empty calories. I think in the last 6 months I've had one caipirinha and half a small bottle of berry cider so I'm definitely on the low alcohol intake side. However, most people I know do drink alcohol to some extent. DP will have 2 or 3 bottles of beer or glasses of red wine per week with dinner, my parents have a glass of wine or g&t with dinner maybe 3 or 4 nights per week and most of my friends and colleagues do the same and/or have a bottle of wine at the weekend and an occasional night out session. I tend to be the 'unusual' one, although I don't get any hassle about it.

If they're going on women who have tracked their drinking on the same site it may be accurate. It's looking at 32 units over a week. More if you drink every night.

I think they say us feeble souls should have 2 units a night. So a max of 12 units. But then other stats say we should have less than 4 units a week.

I may feel inclined to get your GP to run a LFT test to check all is ok with your liver.

It's your life, you know the risks, so it's ultimately your choice what you do. I know many who would drink a bottle a night or so they say.

I'm teetotal but having worked on a liver ward for many years I would like to point out that most drinkers never fully admit to how much they drink so the statistic is probably rubbish anyway .

I don't drink, in my younger days, I drank enough for my entire lifetime. I'm pretty much all or nothing with most things, cake for a start is an all. If there was a cake questionnaire, my cake units would be astronomical.

I used to drink socially, and invariably it was too much. I stopped about 10yrs ago because of (non-alcohol related) liver issues. I didn't touch a drop for about 5 years.

These days I have a small glass about once a week of one of the liquers I really enjoy, usually Tia Maria or Baileys. I can't stand the taste of wine these days, although I used to be able to drink a bottle in an evening easily. I don't miss regular drinking one bit.

I drink way less than that. I don't drink at all if there's any chance I might need to drive (lower limit in Scotland). One large glass of wine would put me over the limit. I think that's true of most of my friends with school age children. One parent is always below the drink drive limit and the other parent might have a glass of beer or a glass of wine, but doesn't want to drink much alone.

I think you drink a lot OP. Most of my friends are teetotal/very low drinkers. I drink about one small glass of wine a month. But there are a few neighbours near me who get bladdered every weekend.

I have gone off wine but love and G and T most nights or 2. It's habit. My parents did the same. Both mid 70s with no health problems. To me it's normal. My OH though, his family drink a lot. I know close friends who drink much more than me and friends who abstain.

I wonder are the people who take part in these surveys reflecting reality.

(The surveys that created these statistics)

The thing is what you consider "reasonable drinking" can be highly subjective depending on what is normal for your family/peer group.

I remember once having a discussion with a colleague who said "oh know I don't drink very much at all either"

On further discussion my "not very much" meant 1 glass of wine a month.

Her "not very much" was half a bottle of wine a night. Her family and friends drank considerably more than that so she thought 4 ish bottles a week wasn't that much.

TBH I think you are drinking quite a lot OP. I've had two cocktails and a glass of wine in the last week, and the cocktails were at the weekend. You can't gauge what you drink against a small no. of people you work with.

I don't think you're drinking too terribly much, but your drinking habits sound very similar to mine.

And this

I put one glass a week and apparently 55.1% of women drink less than that. So about 50% of women don't drink?

just confirms that people are not being honest about how much they drink. I know of my let's say, hundred or so acquaintances in London, one person who is teetotal and she's Muslim. Possibly two, because I feel like I'm forgetting someone.

The test will be skewed because alcoholics and very heavy drinkers either won't take the test or will fudge the results if they do, in order to feel ok to carry on as they are.

So are drinking the equivalent of roughly two bottles of wine across three nights? If you aren't drinking on the other four then I don't think that's excessive at all, probably around average or even below average (if you don't include people who don't drink at all in the figures) when spread across the whole week. If you are looking at those three nights in isolation though, and that pattern is replicated pro data across the other four nights then Is say you are drinking too much.

You probably need to cut down on average alcohol intake a little, OP, which I guess is why you went on the app. Good on you. But I agree with you, there is no way that 87% of women drink less than that. And what does it matter, why say that anyway? What matters is how much you drink and how it affects you, not the drinking habits of the nation.

I think it's important to remember though that we shouldn't be gauging whether we drink 'too much' or not based on what everyone else is drinking. If the majority of people in any given test group are drinking to excess then you can easily convince yourself that you are not drinking excessively merely by comparing yourself only to those who are doing worse than you.

Its like being a size 16 and telling yourself that you are slim because everyone else around you is size 20.

Yes those stats sound like rubbish to me. I drink about the same as you I think.

I drink around once a month. When i do drink i only have a glass or 2 of wine.

16 units a week sounds quite a bit to me. But then me qnd DH rarely drink and a lotmof our friends arent massive drinkers. Some are mind.

Did anyone else not drink much before parenthood, and then slide into a heavier drinking pattern? I hate to sound so cliche, but it seems my children have actually driven me to drink.

What frenchlavender said.

And here's a woman who has clearly drank her birthday and Christmas half glaS's of champagne all in one go