{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]],"date-time":"2026-08-19T05:11:49Z","timestamp":1787116309243,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":56,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,13]],"date-time":"2026-07-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783900800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study \u2013 Kids Nutrition and Health Study\u2019 (FITS-KNHS) in the UAE","award":["2017NH3"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2017NH3"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Dietary patterns constitute a modifiable lifestyle exposure, affecting obesity among children. This study aimed to identify and characterize dietary patterns amongst young school-aged children in the UAE and investigate their association with obesity. A cross-sectional survey of 4\u20139-year-old children (n\u2009=\u2009426) was conducted in the 3 major Emirates of the UAE. Socio-demographic characteristics and anthropometric measurements were obtained. Dietary assessment was performed using the 24-hour recall method. Derivation of dietary patterns was carried out using factor analysis. Of the study sample, 19.5% were overweight\/at risk of overweight, and 5% were obese. Two main dietary patterns were derived: \u201cHealthy Pattern\u201d, marked by higher consumption of fruits and vegetables, olive oil, and whole grains, and \u201cWestern Pattern,\u201d characterized by higher intakes of fast food, salty snacks, sweets, and sugar-sweetened beverages. The Healthy Pattern demonstrated negative correlations with total energy, saturated and trans-fat intake, and a positive correlation with dietary fiber intake. The Western Pattern was positively correlated with proteins, cholesterol, saturated and trans-fat intake, and negatively correlated with dietary fiber intake. Higher scores of the Healthy Pattern were associated with lower BMI-for-age Z scores. These findings provide evidence for the development of culture-specific nutrition programs for curbing the obesity epidemic amongst children in the UAE.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0352032","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,13]],"date-time":"2026-07-13T17:28:23Z","timestamp":1783963703000},"page":"e0352032","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Dietary patterns and their associations with obesity among 4\u20139-year-old children in the United Arab Emirates: A cross-sectional 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