One-Fifth of Respondents Skip Breakfast: Survey

A considerable number of people in the UAE skip breakfast due to lack of time, according to an independent health and fitness study held recently.

According to the study, a majority of those surveyed consumed less than a large bottle of water in a day, and topping the list were Emiratis.

The study was conducted by Zarca Interactive, a US-based online research company, between October and December. Of the 300 residents surveyed, 20 per cent said that they do not eat breakfast at all due to lack of time. Of these 20 per cent, 27 per cent were Emiratis and 26 per cent Arab expatriates.

Of the total respondents, almost 49 per cent were of various Arab nationalities, 23 per cent were Emiratis while Indians constituted a quarter of the respondents in the nationwide study. The split between male and female respondents was 70 and 30 per cent, 
respectively.

The study also found that almost 50 per cent of Emirati respondents, 33 per cent of Arab expatriates and 24 per cent of Asian expatriates consumed less than one large bottle of water per day.

Over a quarter of respondents, 30 per cent of which were males, do not supplement their diet with vitamins. The core reason cited was that vitamins were expensive and a waste of money.

Despite these statistics, awareness of what constitutes healthy eating was high, especially among those aged between 16 and 24.

Majority of respondents described a balanced mixture of foods as the ideal diet, and only less than five per cent said they did not know what a healthy diet should comprise.

The study corroborates the recent spate of reports by the World Health Organisation on the region’s state of health, particularly in relation to the rise in chronic diseases resulting from nutritional disorders and lack of physical activity.

While a third exercised at least three times per week, the main form of exercise being walking, one in five respondents do not exercise at all.

In addition, over 50 per cent, majority being Asians, chose electronic gadgets as their preferred means of relieving stress instead of physical activity. Consuming chocolates, ice creams and snacks in times of stress was high at 16.3 per cent.

Of these respondents, majority were Emirati.

The independent study by Zarca Interactive is the first in a series of quarterly studies across six Gulf Cooperation Council countries. A comparative study of findings across all countries will be released in the first quarter of 2010 and reports will be made available to companies and organisations who want to access them.

“The comparative study will allow us to identify trends and patterns that are unique to each country. This, in turn, will enable us to tailor more in-depth and country-specific surveys with a much larger sample size in the following quarter, which health authorities, NGOs and commercial organisations can access,” said Javed Farooqui, executive director and head, Middle East and Africa. Khaleej Times