Life style and (preventive) health; personal characteristics, 2014-2021

Life style and (preventive) health; personal characteristics, 2014-2021

Characteristics persons Margins Periods Smoking behaviour, 12 years or older Smoking status Smokers (%) Alcohol consumption, 12 years or older Drinkers Heavy drinkers in the population (%) Alcohol consumption, 12 years or older Drinkers Excessive drinkers in the population (%) Length and weight Under- and overweight, 4 years or older Overweight (%) Length and weight Under- and overweight, 4 years or older Degree of overweight Severe overweight (%)
Total Value 2021 19.4 8.1 6.8 44.5 12.6
Age: 18 years or older Value 2021 20.6 8.3 7.3 50.0 14.3
Level of education: low Value 2021 23.6 5.8 6.4 60.7 18.6
Level of education: middle Value 2021 22.8 7.5 7.6 57.7 17.9
Level of education: high Value 2021 14.2 7.5 6.4 43.9 10.9
Welfare: 1st 20%-group Value 2021 28.9 6.8 5.4 47.5 17.0
Welfare: 2nd 20%-group Value 2021 25.6 6.9 6.0 47.8 14.1
Welfare: 3rd 20%-group Value 2021 18.6 7.4 6.5 47.5 13.7
Welfare: 4th 20%-group Value 2021 15.5 8.6 7.1 43.9 12.1
Welfare 5th 20%-group Value 2021 13.0 10.1 8.5 39.0 8.4
Source: CBS.
Explanation of symbols

Table explanation


This table contains data on life style and on the (preventive) health examination of the Dutch population in private households. These data can be grouped by several personal characteristics.

Data available from: 2014-2021

Status of the data: final.

Changes by July 31, 2023
None, the table has been discontinued.

When will new data be published?
Not applicable anymore. This table has been replaced, see paragraph 3 for a link to the new table.

Description topics

Smoking behaviour, 12 years or older
Questions on smoking behaviour are asked to persons aged 12 years or older.
Smoking status
Smokers
The percentage of persons in the population aged 12 years or older who answered ‘Yes’ to the question: ‘Do you ever smoke?’
From 2014 to 2017, the introductory text for this question was: ‘Now some questions about smoking.’ From 2018 to 2019 this text was changed in: ‘Now some questions about smoking. We mean smoking of all kinds of tobacco products here, but not the use of an electronic cigarette.’ From 2020 this introduction text was replaced by ‘Now some questions about smoking. We mean smoking of all kinds of tobacco products here, but not the use of an electronic cigarette or a device in which tobacco is heated (heat stick, heat-not-burn), such as the IQOS’.
Alcohol consumption, 12 years or older
The questions on consuming alcohol are asked to all persons aged 12 years or older.
Drinkers
Heavy drinkers in the population
The percentage of persons in the population aged 12 years or older who at least once a week drink 6 or more alcoholic beverages in one day (men) or who at least once a week drink 4 or more of alcoholic beverages in one day (women).
Excessive drinkers in the population
The percentage of persons in the population aged 12 years or older who drink at least 21 glasses a week (men) or 14 glasses a week (women).
Length and weight
The questions on length and weight were asked to every person. It is asked to report one's length in centimetres and one's body weight in kilograms without clothes. If a woman is pregnant, she is asked to report her body weight before the pregnancy.


Under- and overweight, 4 years or older
Under- and overweight is measured with the so-called Body Mass Index (BMI). The BMI is the quotient of the body weight in kilograms and the square of the length in meters [kg/m2]. For persons aged 20 years or older, the BMI is used to calculate the following weight indicators:
1.Underweight: BMI < 18,5
2.Normal weight: BMI >= 18,5 and < 25,0
3.Overweight: BMI >= 25,0
a.Moderate overweight: BMI >= 25,0 and < 30,0
b.Severe overweight: BMI >= 30,0
For persons younger than 20 years of age, different limit values apply. These values depend on gender and age . Respondents whose length and/or weight is unknown or who reported an improbable weight in relation to their length are not used for calculating the indicators. This applies to persons aged 20 years or older with a BMI lower than 14 or higher than 50, and persons younger than 20 years of age with a BMI below 10 or above 50. From 2018 onwards, there is no longer un upper limit of BMI.
Overweight
The percentage of persons whose BMI is 25,0 kg/m2 or more.
For persons below age 18, different limits apply. These limits correspond with a BMI value of 25,0 kg/m2 in adults.


Degree of overweight
Severe overweight
The percentage of persons whose BMI is 30,0 kg/m2 or more.
For persons below age 18, different limits apply. These limits correspond with a BMI value of 30,0 kg/m2 for adults.