Almost half of people in the Netherlands meet government targets on exercise, a figure unchanged since the new guidelines were introduced five years ago, national statistics office CBS said on Monday.

The government recommend adults exercise for at least 150 minutes a week at moderate intensity, such as walking and cycling, and do muscle and bone strengthening activities at least twice a week.

Children aged four to 17 should do at least an hour of moderate-intensity exercise every day and do muscle and bone strengthening activities at least three times a week.

The survey shows that 62% of the under-12s met the targets last year, because they were more likely to play outside or walk to school. However, only 36% of teenagers did so.

Young adults are now less likely to meet the exercise targets than they were at the start of the programme, mainly because they are cycling less, the CBS said.

Elderly pensioners, however, are moving around more. Although the over-75s are least likely to take sufficient exercise the percentage who do has gone up from 27% in 2017 to 33% last year.