Adults went to drink less in 2024 than they did two years earlier. This is apparent from Tuesday Health Monitor Adults and Elderly 2024a large -scale study by the GGDs, Statistics Netherlands and the RIVM.
According to the Directive of the Health Council, the following applies: do not drink, or at most one glass with alcohol per day. In 2024, 45 percent of adults adhered to that directive, compared to 42 percent in 2022.
Young adults in particular exceed the norm. Of the 18 to 35 year olds, 63 percent drank more than one glass a day on average. Elderly people kept it most often: 60 percent of the over-75s remained within the directive. More than one fifth of the Dutch (22 percent) said they had no alcohol at all in 2024.
Women drink less than men. More than half of women (54 percent) adhered to the alcohol standard, compared to 35 percent of men. The level of education also plays a role. Of the people with only primary education or a VMBO diploma, 56 percent met the directive, compared to 43 percent among the middle educated (MBO, HAVO, VWO) and 40 percent among higher educated people (HBO, WO).
Smoking and moving
The number of smokers continues to fall, but there are regional differences. In Noord-Holland, 13 percent of adults smoked in 2024, the lowest share in the country. In Amsterdam that was 20 percent – the highest percentage in the Netherlands. Relatively much smoking was also smoked in the Rotterdam-Rijnmond and Groningen regions.
In the National Prevention Agreement it has been agreed that in 2040 less than 5 percent of adults are still smoking.
It was also noticeable that a striking amount is being moved in Amsterdam: 65 percent of the inhabitants sported weekly and thus met the motive guidelines. In Rotterdam-Rijnmond and Limburg, that share was considerably lower by 43 percent.
The health monitor has been held every four years since 2012. For the 2024 edition, more than 450,000 Dutch people aged 18 and older completed a questionnaire about their health, lifestyle and living environment.