Healthy lifestyles leave Dutch cold.

Taking a look back at 2006, Statistics Netherlands (CBS), the country's central statistics office, reported on March 20, 2007 that the Dutch population overall has not done much toward achieving a healthy lifestyle. In other developed countries, a trend toward adopting healthier behavior patterns has caught on. But not in the Netherlands.

The CBS press release went out under the headline, "Dutch have not improved their lifestyle," which according to the statistics CBS presents has to stand as an understatement. "The percentage of Dutch adults who were overweight continued to rise," said the CBS. Not only that but the percentage of smokers was the same as in 2005. The number of heavy drinkers "also remained stable." And the number of people who maintained what is considered a healthy exercise routine remained the same when compared with 2005.

In terms of weight, the CBS says that obesity in the Netherlands continues to rise. The proportion of the Dutch population that is overweight was 46 percent in 2006. This was greater than in 2005 but the CBS did not say how much greater. Most alarming was, "The percentage of people who are seriously obese is also continuing to rise in 2006, for women in particular." This amounts to nearly 13 percent of all women in the country. The CBS also said, "The proportion of seriously overweight men has been 10 percent for a number of years now."

There was one bright spot in connection with the smoking issue. The number of heavy smokers in the Netherlands "did continue to fall." Overall, the situation was not favorable, however. Close to 30 percent of the Dutch population over the age of 12 years are smokers. Recently, a declining trend was established among smokers between the ages of 12 years and 24 years, but in 2006 this trend did not continue. The average age of smokers rose from 41 years to 43 years.

Detail on the unchanged drinking situation included the fact that 11 percent of Dutch people are heavy drinkers, and four times as many men as women are heavy drinkers.

Finally, 45 percent of the Dutch population doesn't get enough exercise.

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