Some 18% of Dutch adults smoke, 6% are heavy drinkers and half are overweight, according to the latest edition of the CBS’s annual health survey.

Fewer people smoked and drank last year when compared with 10 years ago but the number of people who are too heavy remained the same, the statistics agency said.

The number of smokers went down from 26% in 2014 to 18% a decade later, while the percentage of heavy drinkers (more than 21 units of alcohol per week for men and 14 for women) shrank from 10% to 6%.

The aim to bring down the number of smokers to 5% by 2040 set down in the government health agreement is far from becoming a reality, CBS said, but the figure for heavy alcohol use is nearing the target of 5%.

Overweight people continue to make up half of the adult population and their number is not getting nearer to the 38% goal. Obesity actually increased from 13% in 2014 to 16% in 2024.

On average people with university and college degrees, smoked less and were less often overweight than those without.

Weight is also related to income, with people on the lower income scale more at risk of being overweight than higher income groups, the research showed.

Neither income nor education is a determining factor in heavy alcohol use. The same number of people aged 25 and older drink too much, regardless of their income or level of education.