Netherlands residents smoking and drinking less, exercising more, and feeling healthier

Netherlands residents are increasingly adhering to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) guidelines on healthy living and are generally feeling healthier, according to the Health Monitor 2024 study by Statistics Netherlands (CBS), the health services GGD, and public health institute RIVM. More people are drinking less, quitting smoking, and exercising enough.

The WHO guideline for alcohol is to not drink, and if you do, no more than one drink per day. Last year, 45 percent of Dutch adults said they adhered to this guideline. One in five people did not drink any alcohol at all in the past year.

There are differences between the genders and the regions. Women (54 percent) were more likely to adhere to the alcohol guideline than men (35 percent). In Flevoland, 53 percent of adults didn’t drink more than recommended. In Zuid-Holland-Zuid and Rotterdam-Rijnmond, too, more than half of the residents stuck to the guidelines. “In other regions, the share that complies is lower, with relatively low percentages in Noord-Brabant, Overijssel, and Noord-Holland,” CBS said.

The researchers attribute the regional differences in alcohol consumption to differences in the composition of the population, such as age, education level, and household income.

The number of adult smokers in the Netherlands also continued to decline. Last year, 16 percent of adults smoked, compared to 17 percent in the previous Health Monitor in 2022. More adults were vaping, on the other hand, rising from 2 percent in 2020 to 4 percent in 2024.

More than half of Netherlands residents were also meeting the exercise requirements in the WHO’s guidelines - at least 150 minutes of moderately intense exercise per week, with strength training twice a week. People in Amsterdam most often met the exercise requirements (57 percent), but were also most likely to be smokers (20 percent).

The researchers also asked Netherlands residents how they feel about their health. Last year, 74 percent experienced their health as good or very good, a slight increase compared to 2022.