HEALTH NOTES: With age comes body confidence  

Women in their 60s are more confident about the way that they look than any other age group, a poll has suggested.

More than two-thirds of women aged 60 to 70 said they feel confident about their appearance, compared with only about half of twentysomethings. The 70-to-79-year-old age group was the second-most assured, with 57 per cent 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 found that while older women are more concerned about their bodies’ abilities, they view the way they look more positively than younger subjects.

Plea to care homes for ‘grandparents 

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

Close to 72,000 young people have already signed up with the Adopt A Grandparent charity, which aims to sparks inter-generational friendships by linking them to care home residents who can often become isolated.

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

The charity supplies care homes with iPads so residents can spend time with a partner via video calls, but it needs more people to sign up. ‘We still have far more volunteers than older people to pair them with,’ said Adopt A Grandparent founder and chief executive Shaleeza Hasham.

Close to 72,000 young people have already signed up with the Adopt A Grandparent charity, which aims to sparks inter-generational friendships by linking them to care home residents who can often become isolated

More than 30,000 NHS patients will miss a GP appointment this week due to the time changing.

The clocks went forward an hour this morning, marking the start of British Summer Time. Studies show the number of missed medical appointments increases by five per cent in the week the clocks go forward, mostly due to patient mistakes.

Patient Claim Line has computed that some 618,370 appointments could be missed between tomorrow and Sunday – nearly 30,000 more than a usual week. These appointments could cost the NHS an eye-watering £800,000. Previous research found traffic collisions spike by 20 per cent in the fortnight after the clocks go back in winter, because of increased driver tiredness.

Three-quarters of people on antidepressants don’t receive enough help when coming off them, a study has found. Since 2021, GPs have been advised that patients who stop taking the pills should be monitored for months, following concerns about prolonged withdrawal effects including panic attacks and suicidal thoughts. But the study, by the University of East London and University College London, found 72 per cent of 1,200 polled said details about withdrawal were ‘unhelpful’. Some said GPs didn’t even tell them to stop taking the drugs gradually, as guidance states.