About one in five infants and toddlers in the UAE are at risk of becoming overweight due to poor diet and nutrition.
Young children across the Gulf are also not eating the recommended amount of fruit or milk required for healthy growth, research by UAE University, University of Sharjah and the American University of Beirutfound.
The Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study looked at Emirati and other Arab infants and toddlers aged 0-2 years in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah.
The crucial first 1,000 days of life is a period critical to forming dietary habits that define health throughout our lifetime
“Studies like FITS are essential to establishing a good level of understanding on nutrition and dietary patterns of infants and children,” said Professor Ayesha Salem Al Dhaheri, associate provost for student affairs at UAE University.
“The crucial first 1,000 days of life is a period critical to forming dietary habits that define health throughout our lifetime.
“These concrete findings will help guide the formulation of evidence-based interventions, as well as nutrition-related policies for infants and young children in the country.”
The research found just 16 per cent of young children consumed the recommended amount of fruit, with fewer than half eating enough dairy.
It also found 18 per cent were at risk of becoming overweight and 7 per cent were already overweight or obese.
Almost half of infants aged 6-12 months had an iron deficiency while 53 per cent of toddlers between 1 and 2 years old did not have enough Vitamin D in their diet.
A further 49 per cent did not meet recommendations for lean meat and beans consumption.
The study was conducted in partnership with Tathqeef, a medical education centre, and Nestlé Research, which designed the methodology and covered its financing.
It looked at data drawn from a large sample of parents or caregivers of infants, toddlers and pre-schoolers.
Results will enable policy makers and carers to learn about the nutrient intakes and nutritional needs of infants, toddlers and young children in the region, and to understand what foods are being consumed at different ages when the diet of young children is rapidly changing.
In 2016, a regional review into micronutrient deficiencies in the diet of infants and toddlers was launched in partnership with Nestlé Research in Switzerland and AUB.
Findings from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Lebanon, and Jordan provided insights on gaps and challenges in nutrition and diet.
It showed a triple burden of malnutrition, where overweight, under nutrition, and micronutrient deficiencies co-existed.
Since then, a sugar tax has been implemented in the UAE and Saudi Arabia to curb intake and take action against childhood obesity.
Doctors said more younger children put on weight during the pandemic, compared to years before, with fewer options to play outside with friends and easy access to fast food.
“We have seen more cases of childhood obesity during the pandemic,” said Dr Anuradha Ajesh, a pediatrician at Bareen International Hospital in MBZ City, Abu Dhabi.
“This could be due to a reduction in outside play and also a reliance on more convenient food that is usually highly processed with sugars and fats.
“Children aged 1 to 5 should have 180 minutes of active play every day to ensure they have good development.”
Winners
Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)
Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)
Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)
Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)
Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)
Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Healthcare spending to double to $2.2 trillion rupees
Launched a 641billion-rupee federal health scheme
Allotted 200 billion rupees for the recapitalisation of state-run banks
Around 1.75 trillion rupees allotted for privatisation and stake sales in state-owned assets
Disposing of non-recycleable masks
Use your ‘black bag’ bin at home
Do not put them in a recycling bin
Take them home with you if there is no litter bin
- No need to bag the mask
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
500 People from Gaza enter France
115 Special programme for artists
25 Evacuation of injured and sick
Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
