Alcohol abuse: in Italy the elderly and the very young are at risk
Published on 22/10/2012
The survey conducted on alcohol and beverage consumption among Italians reveals that risky behaviours are most widespread among the elderly aged 65 and over, among young people aged 18-24 and among adolescents aged 11-17. Alcohol consumption outside of meals is rising sharply among the very young, where the habit of binge drinking (the practice of consuming six or more glasses of alcoholic beverages on a single occasion) moves from 8.3 to 7.5%.
Among the elderly, the over-65s (43% of men versus 10.9% of women), among young people aged 18-24 (22.8% of males and 8.4% of females) and among adolescents aged 11-17 (14.1% of males and 8.4% of females).
Alcohol consumption outside of meals is also growing among the very young. Among 14-17 year-olds, 18.8% consumed alcohol outside of meals in 2011 (compared with 15.5% in 2001). Among young people aged 18-24 who regularly go to nightclubs, risky alcohol consumption behaviours are more widespread (31.9%) than among their peers who do not go to nightclubs (7.8%). The same differences are found among those who attend sporting events and concerts.
The population most at risk of binge drinking (the consumption of six or more glasses of alcoholic beverages on a single occasion) is the young, between 18 and 24 years of age: 15.1% of young people (21.8% of males and 7.9% of females) behave this way, mostly during social occasions. Among the very young, aged 11-15, the share of those with at least one risky behaviour is 11.9%, with no clear gender differences.
This behaviour is serious also because it lays the groundwork for possible immoderate consumption over the course of a lifetime. The Statistics Institute points out that the World Health Organization recommends total abstention from alcohol up to the age of 15.
In 2011, 66.9% of the population aged 14 and over consumed at least one alcoholic beverage during the year. This share is stable compared with the previous year and down compared with 10 years earlier (when it was 72%). The share of those who report drinking alcohol outside of meals is increasing (from 24.9% in 2001 to 27.7% in 2011), as is the share of occasional drinkers (from 37.1% in 2001 to 40.3% in 2011). Last year, 65% of the population aged 11 and over consumed at least one alcoholic beverage during the year. 53.3% drink wine, 46.2% beer and 40.6% alcoholic aperitifs, bitters, spirits or liqueurs; 23.6% drink wine every day and 4.5% beer. Finally, the Istat report stresses that alcohol consumption during the year was higher in the centre-north and in particular the north-east.
Confagricoltura commented on the data from Istat's 2011 Report, arguing that «we must insist on education towards a moderate and mindful way of drinking, tied to meals». This reaffirms the importance of a drinking model traditionally linked to meals, as wine is in our country.