Summary Netherlands: get up on your feet! - Make daily regular physical activity a natural habit

As a nation, we suffer from physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour. The World Health Organisation calls this a pandemic of physical inactivity. This silent catastrophe is causing up to 5,800 premature deaths and €2.7 billion in health care costs in the Netherlands alone each year. Physical inactivity can lead to adverse health outcomes, such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes or depression. Vice versa, regular physical activity has been proven to make a positive contribution to the physical, mental, social and economic well-being of both individuals and society as a whole. Employees who are physically active are more productive, and physically active pupils are better able to concentrate in school. In terms of health outcomes, people who meet the guidelines for physical activity recover more quickly and are more resilient against disease.

A sizeable proportion of both young and old people in the Netherlands does not meet the guidelines for physical activity. In 2020, 53 percent of people in the Netherlands aged four and over were physically active. In 2022, this had declined to 44 per cent – the same level as in 2016. This goes to show that the target in the National Prevention Agreement of getting 75 per cent of Dutch people to meet the guidelines for physical activity in 2040, is increasingly beyond reach. It is time for the Netherlands to get up and get active.