**3. Results**

## *3.1. Demographic Characteristics*

The survey was completed by 1012 participants. The sample distribution from di fferent emirates was representative of the population distribution in the UAE. With the highest number of participants residing in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. More specifically, local coverage spreads over all regions in the UAE: 33.9% of participants live in the capital Abu Dhabi, 32.5% in Dubai, and 33.6% in Sharjah and northern Emirates. The majority of the participants completed the survey in Arabic (60.4%), followed by English (39.3%), and only 0.3% chose the French language. Comprehensive information relating to demographic characteristics of the study population is presented in Table 1. The majority of participants were females (75.9%), aged 26–35 years (29.1%), were married (56.4%), had no children (50%), completed a bachelor's degree (54.1%), worked full-time (53.3%), and were working or studying from home during quarantine (61.6%). Almost one third of the participants reported weight gain since the start of the lockdown (31%). However, 20.9% reported weight loss, 40.1% maintained their weight, and 7.9% did not know if there was a change in their weight. The majority of participants described their health status during the outbreak as very good (39.7%) and only 0.7% indicated poor health status.


**Table 1.** Demographic characteristics of study participants (*n* = 1012).

**Table 1.** *Cont.*


#### *3.2. Source of Information*

When asked about the most common source of information for health and nutrition updates, 69.1% and 67.8% of participants reported relying on social media applications, respectively (Table 2). Local and international health authorities were selected as the second source of information for both health and nutrition updates (65.4% and 48.7%, respectively).



\* As multiple responses were allowed, the total number of responses is greater than the number of surveyed participants and the percent of cases is displayed.

## *3.3. Eating Habits*

Table 3 presents the eating habits of the study participants pre- and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results showed a significant increase in the percentage of participants consuming mostly homemade meals during the pandemic and a significant reduction in those mainly consuming fast-food (*p* < 0.001). Moreover, the percentage of participants consuming five or more meals per day increased from 2.1% before the pandemic to 7% during the pandemic (*p* < 0.001). Also, the percentage of participants consuming breakfast increased from 66% to 74.2%, and the percentage of those skipping meals decreased from 64.5% to 46.2% during the pandemic (*p* < 0.001). Participants reported skipping meals mainly due to lack of time before the pandemic (62.3%), however, the main reason behind that was lack of appetite (36%). With regards to water intake, only 24.1% of participants consumed eight or more cups per day before the pandemic, and the percentage increased to 27.8% during the pandemic (*p* = 0.003).

**Table 3.** Eating habits pre- and during COVID-19 pandemic (*n* = 1012).



**Table 3.** *Cont.*

\* As multiple responses were allowed, the total number of responses is greater than the number of surveyed participants and the percent of cases is displayed. 1 Restaurants: included all ethnic restaurants (Asian, Middle Eastern, International, etc.), casual dining and family style restaurants; 2 healthy restaurants: included food outlets with the "Weqaya logo", restaurants categorized as "healthy" on food mobile apps (such as Zomato, Talabat, and Uber Eats) or catering services providing meal plan services based on nutritional needs (such as Kcal, right bite, Eat Clean ME, etc.).

The frequency of consumption for particular food products during the COVID-19 pandemic among residents of the UAE are presented in Table 4. Over half of the participants (51.2%) did not consume fruits daily, 37% did not consume vegetables daily, and 46.2% did not consume milk and dairy products on daily basis. However, 46.1% of the participants consumed sweets and desserts at least once per day, and 37.1% reported consuming salty snacks (chips, crackers, and nuts) every day.


**Table 4.** The frequency of consumption of particular foods during COVID-19 pandemic (*n* = 1012).

Additionally, 69.2% had tea or co ffee at least once per day. Sweet drinks such as fruit juices and beverages were less popular among the study participants, as 44.2% reported never consuming them and an even higher percentage (86.5%) reported never consuming energy drinks during the pandemic.

A total of two components from the PCA output were derived, based on eigenvalue (at least 1) and scree plots obtained (Table 5). These two components explained 47% of the variance in eating behavior and were named based on the interpretation of the component loadings. The first pattern explained 31% of eating variation and was named "Western-type diet" since it was characterized by significantly positive loadings in dairy, meat, sweets, salted foods and vegetables. The second pattern explained 16% of the variance and loaded positively with ssbs and energy drinks and negatively on fruits and vegetables. Therefore, it was named "Free Sugars diet". A KMO of 0.78 was obtained, which is considered substantial.


**Table 5.** Component loading for the two major dietary patterns of the participants during COVID-19.

KMO: Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) test. The unique characteristics of each component (dietary pattern) are presented in bold. Marginally unique dietary characteristic for each component. Loadings ≥0.30 and ≤−0.30.
