HEALTH NOTES: With age comes body confidence  

Women in their 60s are more confident about their appearance than any other age group, a poll found.

More than two-thirds of women in their 60s and 70s said they feel confident about their appearance, compared with only about half of those in their 20s. The 70 to 79 age group was the second most confident, with 57 percent liking what they see in the mirror.

The survey of 1,000 British women, by collagen brand So Body Co, found that a third of women of all ages have grown in confidence with age.

Previous studies have also shown that while older women are more concerned about their bodies’ abilities, they view the way they look more positively than younger subjects.

Plea for nursing homes for ‘grandparents’

A charity is calling on older people to become ‘adopted grandparents’ to young people as part of a plan to tackle Britain’s loneliness crisis.

Nearly 72,000 young people have already signed up to the Adopt A Grandparent charity, which aims to foster friendships between generations by connecting them with care home residents who can often find themselves isolated.

A recent analysis found that more than three million Britons are chronically lonely, and a quarter of 18-24 year olds say they often experience loneliness.

The charity is supplying care homes with iPads so residents can spend time with a partner via video calls, but more people need to sign up. “We still have a lot more volunteers than older people to pair with,” said Shaleeza Hasham, founder and CEO of Adopt A Grandparent.

Nearly 72,000 young people have already signed up to the Adopt A Grandparent charity, which aims to foster friendships between generations by connecting them with care home residents who can often find themselves isolated

More than 30,000 NHS patients are missing a GP appointment this week due to the time change.

This morning the clocks went forward one hour, marking the start of British summer time. Studies show that the number of missed medical appointments increases by five percent in the week that the clock moves forward, mainly due to patient error.

Patient Claim Line has calculated that there are about 618,370 missed appointments between tomorrow and Sunday – nearly 30,000 more than in a typical week. These appointments could cost the NHS an eye-watering £800,000. Previous research showed that traffic accidents increase by 20 percent in the two weeks after the clocks are turned back in winter, due to increased driver fatigue.

Three-quarters of people on antidepressants don’t get enough help to get off them, a study finds. Since 2021, GPs have been advised that patients who stop taking the pills should be monitored for months, due to concerns about long-term withdrawal symptoms, including panic attacks and suicidal thoughts. But the study, conducted by the University of East London and University College London, found that 72 percent of the 1,200 people surveyed said details about withdrawal were ‘unhelpful’. Some said GPs had not even told them to stop taking the drugs gradually, as stated in the guidelines.