Middle-aged women are accidentally consuming three times as much alcohol as they should be, new research suggests.
A new survey of 2,000 British women between the ages of 40 and 65 found that confusion around units may be leading to some women overindulging.
It found that many women assume 14 units per week - the alcohol recommendation prescribed by the NHS - means 14 glasses.
In fact, a standard 175ml glass of red, white or rosé wine contains around 2.1 units, while a large 250ml glass tends to average at three units.
The survey was conducted by author Sara Stewart, who carried out the study as part of research for a book.
It found that more than a quarter of middle-aged women drink between five and 16 glasses of wine each week.
What’s more, 5% admitted to drinking more than 16 alcoholic drinks over the course of a week.
If each of these was a large glass, they’d be consuming a staggering 48 units per week.
“A lot of women saw large glasses of wine, that contain as much as a third of a bottle, as the equivalent of one unit,” she said, according to the MailOnline.
“Because they didn’t know what a unit was, many thought a glass of whatever size, was a unit.”
It’s not just women over 40 who are drinking more than the recommended amount of alcohol
Research compiled by The Office Of National Statistics earlier this year found that 2.5 million people across the UK have drunk one week’s worth of alcohol in just one day.
The figures showed that young drinkers (aged 16-24) were most likely to consume more than the weekly recommended limit in one day, with 17% in this age group admitting to drinking more than 14 units in a sitting.