Majority of doctors think young people don't know how to take care of themselves, poll claims

Seven in 10 respondents believe younger generations were unsure about how to lead a healthy lifestyle or treat minor ailments

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Most doctors judge young people as being unable to take care of themselves, according to a new poll.

The poll of 2,000 young adults and 150 health professionals found seven in 10 respondents believed younger generations were unsure about how to lead a healthy lifestyle or treat minor ailments such as colds and headaches.

The wider public lacked access to "high quality" information which would enable them to lead a healthier existence, many of the health professionals believed.

Successfully rectifying this problem would alleviate pressure on the NHS, they said.

Just 12 per cent of GPs and 23 per cent of the pharmacists polled, currently feel equipped to educate patients on the self-care options available to them.

“These findings reveal the complexity of the self-care landscape in the UK," said Fabio Mazzotta, general manager of consumer healthcare for Sanofi UK, a global pharmaceutical company.

It also emerged that just 39 per cent of respondents between the ages 23 to 38 felt they knew "enough" about taking care of themselves.

SWNS