Doctors in UAE are seeing the same preventable issues, shaped by daily routines at home Last updated: May 08, 2026 | 15:09 The waiting rooms are not filling up with rare illnesses or dramatic diagnoses. What paediatricians across the UAE are noticing instead is quieter and more consistent. The same set of issues keeps returning, shaped less by disease and more by daily life at home. Dr Vijay Acharya Childhood obesity sits at the centre of this shift. Dr Vijay Acharya, Consultant Paediatrician at Burjeel Medical City, points to the numbers driving it. “About 75 per cent of children in the UAE exceed two hours of recreational screen time per day,” he says, adding that among this group, physical activity drops sharply, with nearly 68.8 per cent reporting none at all. The link is direct. Higher screen time is tracking closely with rising overweight and obesity rates. Dr Mohammed Faizal P, Specialist Paediatrics at Aster Clinic, sees the same picture from a clinical lens.…