(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-03-19 14:50

BRUSSELS -- Dutch people have adopted a healthier lifestyle in recent years with a decreasing number of people engaged in smoking and heavy drinking and more people taking up exercise, the Dutch central statistics bureau (CBS) said Tuesday.

The percentage of smokers dropped from 29.6 percent in 2006 to 27.9 percent last year, a downward trend which began in 2004, the CBS said. The number of heavy smokers also dwindled in recent years.

The percentage of young people between 12 and 24 who have never smoked also grew from 58 percent in 2001 to 66 percent last year.

The proportion of heavy drinkers aged 12 years or older fell from nearly 14 percent in 2001 to nearly 11 percent in 2007, the bureau said.

Meanwhile, more Dutch people took part in exercise. In the age category of 12 years or older, the percentage of people who do enough exercise rose from 52 percent in 2001 to 56 percent.

Until 2002, the number of moderately overweight people increased annually, but it has remained stable in recent years. Nearly 35 percent of Dutch adults were moderately overweight in 2007, the CBS said.