If you thought that the gloomy trajectory of middle-aged life couldn’t get any worse, you’re wrong. The news this week that strokes among those in their forties and fifties have soared because of obesity and lack of exercise — up by nearly 50 per cent in 15 years for men and by 30 per cent for women — has been followed by another grim finding: middle class drinking habits are now among the worst in the world. The revelations have brought into sharp focus previous predictions that almost two thirds of men over 40 will be obese by 2040, increasing their risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease as well as stroke.
Women are making bad lifestyle choices and men are compounding them by