YOUNG people are suffering symptoms most commonly associated with middle age, and developing abnormal eating and drinking habits because of high stress levels, according to new research published today.
More than one in three young people aged between 18 and 24 regularly feel stressed, with half citing work as the cause.
Nearly a third under-eat as a result of stress, while one in three admits to over-eating and smoking excessively, and 40% to drinking to relieve feelings of stress. The survey of 950 young adults across the UK was carried out by the Bread for Life campaign, which aims to encourage young people to eat a healthy balanced diet.
It found one in three 18 to 24-year-olds suffers insomnia, 56% complain of headaches, and 23% suffer from depression, while three out of five young people become irritable when stressed and a third behave aggressively.
Work is the biggest cause of stress, followed by money worries and relationships.
Women are more likely to turn to food when stressed, with more than half naming chocolate as the greatest stress reliever, while more men turn to alcohol for solace.
Women are also more likely to talk to a friend about their problems, with men tending to bottle things up.
Commenting on the research, Manchester-based psychologist Professor Cary Cooper said: “When feeling stressed, young people are demonstrating symptoms most commonly associated with middle age and, in order to escape their anxieties, they’re turning towards living destructively unhealthy lifestyles from an early age.”
Dr Geoff Scobie, a senior psychologist at Glasgow University, said society as a whole was feeling more stress.
“The work situation is now a very stressful place,” he said.

“Not only have you got to do your work, you have also got to be seen to be doing your work.
“There is also a high expectation associated with lots of things you do. This includes relationships. We expect relationships to be out of this world and tend to opt out if they don’t meet our expectations. What we find most distressing is not being in control of our lives. We turn to a situation where we are in control - that is eating and drinking.
“We can either eat or not eat but we are in control. It gives us some sort of valid action and releases us from stresses and anxieties, especially when we drink alcohol.”
A spokesman for the Confederation of British Industry said: “Stress at work is becoming a big problem across all age groups. It is a very competitive market place for companies and therefore there is greater demand for employees to perform to ensure the company can continue to prosper.
“For the younger age group, it’s a time to earn their spurs and make an impression on their employer. That age group is also more likely to work hard and play hard.”
Ms Elizabeth Burtney, a research specialist at the Health Education Board of Scotland, said stress was an issue that was talked about more in society in general.
“I think the fact that quite a lot of young people are feeling stressed is to do with the fact we are more able to talk about stress as an issue,” she said.
“Pressures in society have gone up, but I think we are able to talk about it more, which helps.”
She said that as well as talking about problems, finding time to relax and setting realistic goals were other ways to deal with stress.