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

Table explanation

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’.

Smokers

Daily smokers in the population

The percentage of persons in the population aged 12 years or older who answered Yes’ to the question ‘Do you smoke every day?

Passive smoking among non-smokers

Passive smoking is the inhalation of tobacco smoke from nearby smokers while being indoors. The table shows the distribution of answers to the question among people who do not smoke themselves: ‘How often do you (or: does your child) get exposed indoor to tobacco smoke from other people?’

Passive smoking among non-smokers

Passive smoking is the inhalation of tobacco smoke from nearby smokers while being indoors. The table shows the distribution of answers to the question among people who do not smoke themselves: ‘How often do you (or: does your child) get exposed indoor to tobacco smoke from other people?’ From 2019 onwards, the answer options were replaced by ‘Never or almost never’, ‘Less than once a week’, ‘Once a week but not every week’, ‘Daily, less than 1 hour a day’ and ‘Daily, one hour or more a day’. These data are not comparable to the data of 2015-2018.

(Almost) never

Percentage of people with answer category ‘never of almost never’ to the question: ‘How often do you (or: does your child) get exposed indoor to tobacco smoke from other people?’.

Alcohol consumption, 12 years or older

The questions on consuming alcohol are asked to all persons aged 12 years or older.

Guideline alcohol use

The percentage of persons in the population aged 12 years or older that meet the guideline on alcohol use. Since 2014, the guideline for persons aged 12 to 18 years is: do not drink until you are 18 years old. Since 2015, the guideline for adults is: do not drink or at most 1 glass per day. This guideline originates from the Guidelines for Good Nutrition (in Dutch: Richtlijnen Goede Voeding) of the Dutch Health Council.

Drugs use, 12 years or older

The questions on the use of drugs are asked to persons aged twelve years or older. For the following types of drugs, it is asked whether people have ever used it and if so, when for the last time:
Cannabis (hashish, weed, marijuana)
Amphetamine (such as pep and speed)
XTC (ecstasy, MDMA)
LSD
Mushrooms (hallucinogenic mushrooms, magic mushrooms)
Cocaine (including crack, basecoke, freebase)
Heroine (horse, smack, or brown)
GHB
Methadone
From 2018: 4-Fluoramphetamine, also known as 4-FA, 4-FMP or Flux
Other drugs
The answer categories for each type of drug are:
Yes, in the last 30 days
Yes, in the last 12 months, but not in the last 30 days
Yes, more than 12 months ago
No, never used

Use of cannabis

Based on the question about the use of cannabis (hashish, weed, marijuana)

Last month

Last year

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.

Nutrition, 4 years or older

The questions on nutrition are posed to all persons of 4 years or older and enquire about the consumption of fruit, vegetables and fish.

Consumption of fruit

Persons are being asked to indicate their consumption of fruit in a regular week during the last months.

At least 5 days a week sufficient fruit

The percentage of persons who, on at least 5 days of the week, eat at least 2 pieces of fruit (from 9 years of age) or one and a half piece of fruit (children up to and including 8 years of age). One piece of fruit corresponds to 100 grams.