Thaindian News

London, Oct 31 (IANS) Thousands of British children as young as 10 are having problems with alcohol, eating, sleeping and bullying, says a government study.

The data was collected from more than 80,000 school children in classes 6, 8 and 10 — those who were between 10 and 15 years old — by the Schools Health Education Unit, Sky News reported.

The study found that four percent of 12-13-year-olds had drunk 28 or more units of alcohol in the week prior to being surveyed — the equivalent of 19 glasses of wine.

This exceeds the government’s daily unit guidelines for adult men (three to four units) and women (two to three units).

Three units are equal to two small (125 ml) glasses of wine (12 percent alcohol) or a whole pint of strong lager (five percent), according to the charity Drinkaware.

Beer, lager and cider were popular choices with boys, while girls opted for wine and spirits, the study found.

Simon Antrobus, chief executive of the charity Addaction, said: “These new figures back up our own experiences. At Addaction, we know children who drink at younger ages are the ones who need help most.

“We also know that children whose parents misuse alcohol are more likely to develop their own problems later in life.”

The study also asked youngsters about eating, sleeping and bullying.

Girls were becoming image-conscious at a younger age, with more than 33 percent of 10-11-year-olds saying they were not happy with their weight.

Around 66 percent of 12-13-year-olds said they were getting eight or more hours’ sleep a night, but that number goes down as they get older.

The report found 33 percent of girls aged 10 to 11, and 29 percent of those aged 12 to 13, were afraid of going to school because of bullying.

Researchers found Class 10 boys were the most likely to be bullies themselves.