The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) recently published the findings of its latest National Health and Nutrition Survey, spanning results from 2024 to 2025.

The survey was conducted on 20,000 households across the UAE and 2,000 workers in work accommodations, representing a comprehensive look into the state of the country’s population health, dietary and nutrition patterns, identifying key disease and nutritional risks for early intervention.

“This data provides a clear, evidence-based picture of population trends and reinforces the importance of prevention, early intervention, and long-term planning,” Minister of Health and Prevention H.E. Ahmed Ali Al-Sayegh said via a formal statement.

“The goal of this survey is to help guide resources toward priority areas and translate data into targeted strategies that strengthen preventive care, support families, and enhance quality of life for all residents of the UAE.”

The most worrying finding coming out of the survey was the fact that some 96.2% of adult respondents between 18 to 69 were found to exceed the national recommended sodium intake, representing a high risk for non-communicable diseases such as high blood pressure.

This was in addition to 56.1% exceeding recommended fat intake and 27.3% exceeding recommended sugar intake, with 27.4% overall reporting daily consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages.

This daily consumption has continued in the past few years despite the UAE having implemented a ‘sin tax’ on sweetened beverages since 2019, where energy drinks were taxed 100% and other drinks with added sugar were taxed 50%.

Translated to public health, the survey also revealed that 54.2% of UAE adults have high cholesterol, 22.4% are obese, and 25.9% have high blood pressure – and the current high sodium, sugar and fat intakes do not bode well for these numbers going down if no proactive action is taken.

Additionally, concerning numbers came from the examination of children between age six to 17 as over 16% of all child respondents were found to be obese – far surpassing the UNICEF average of 9.4%. Even 2.2% of children between the ages of zero to five were found to be obese, a worrying sign for future public health trends.

Public Health Assistant Undersecretary H.E. Dr. Hussain Al Rand added that work is in progress to use these findings to improve UAE public health.

“These findings are part of an integrated national public health framework, supporting non-communicable disease prevention, improved nutrition outcomes, maternal and child health, and expanded access to quality healthcare,” he said.

“Looking ahead, these will guide the development of innovative health programs, expanded preventive screening, and clear health messaging aimed at empowering individuals to make healthier daily choices.”

UAE sugary beverage taxes in 2026

In line with these findings, the UAE has already implemented a new tiered volumetric excise tax model for sugar-sweetened beverages which started on January 1, 2026, replacing the previous 50% taxation model.

The new system ensures that these beverages are taxed based on the actual sugar and/or sweetener content in each serving, so essentially higher sugar levels will lead to higher tax rates.

This is a system that will undoubtedly encourage reformulation by manufacturers to reduce sugar levels as much as possible – but it remains to be seen whether taxation will make a dent on UAE consumers’ deep and lasting fondness for their daily sugary beverages.

Furthermore, there is no direct taxation yet implemented for salt and fat content, which are the country’s greatest public health risks based on the survey data.

This was recently confirmed by MoHAP, and the government has instead launched a national reformulation programme targeting the reduction of salt, sugar and fat in common dietary categories.

“The government is analysing consumption patterns to understand whether more salt intake comes from bakery products, fast food or packaged foods so we can decide which to prioritise for regulation,” MoHAP Health Promotion Department Director Dr Nouf Khamis Al Ali told Gulf News.