Healthy Living and Behavioral Science Group strengthen partnership to enhance population health in Abu Dhabi

Healthy Living, a government-led, whole-of-society movement hardwiring prevention and driving system-level changes that make the healthy choice the easy, default choice across Abu Dhabi, has reaffirmed its commitment to embedding behavioural science at the core of its initiatives, further strengthening its long-standing partnership with the UAE’s Behavioral Science Group (BSG) to drive sustainable behaviour change, improve population health, and make healthier choices easy, accessible, and part of everyday life for all citizens and residents.

Behavioural science lies at the heart of Healthy Living’s approach, enabling a deeper understanding of how people make decisions in real-world contexts, and translating those insights into practical and targeted interventions. This ensures that Healthy Living initiatives are grounded in evidence and relevant to the lived realities of Abu Dhabi’s population.

His Excellency Dr Ahmed AlKhazraji, Executive Director of Healthy Living at the Department of Health, said: “One-size-fits-all approaches rarely deliver lasting impact– they don’t reflect the different ways people live their lives or the unique realities they navigate every day. Meaningful and sustainable behavioural change starts with listening – understanding the choices people face, and the environments that shape those choices. At Healthy Living, our focus is on translating these insights into action – designing policies, systems, and environments that respond directly to people’s needs.

Through our collaboration with BSG, we are better able to understand communities’ needs and identify gaps in services they need. This approach helps inform what we design and deliver, ensuring interventions are targeted, effective, and focused on where they can achieve the greatest and most lasting impact for generations to come.

Rasha Attar, Director of BSG at the Office of Development Affairs, said: “Since its inception, Healthy Living recognised the value of behavioural science in policy and has taken an evidence-led approach to shaping its initiatives. This collaboration is helping to build locally grounded insights that inform decision-making, support healthier outcomes across Abu Dhabi, and contribute to the growing international evidence base for behavioural science in policy”.

BSG’s work supported the development of Nutri-Mark, a front-of-pack nutrition grading label launched by the Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre. The system classifies packaged food products from Grade A (highest nutritional value) to Grade E (lowest), enabling consumers to compare items within the same category and make more informed choices.

A key milestone in the collaboration has been the evaluation of front-of-package nutrition labels using BSG’s simulated online supermarket. The study, which engaged 2,733 UAE residents, found that product placement and clear labelling significantly influenced purchasing behaviour, particularly staple items such as bread, where healthier options were more frequently selected.

Complementary research involving 4,000 UAE residents further demonstrated that nutritional labelling improves consumer understanding, increases the intention to choose healthier options, and generates positive sentiment. At the same time, the findings highlighted persistent misconceptions around dietary balance, reinforcing the importance of continued public awareness and education efforts.

This need is further reinforced by research conducted by BSG and Healthy Living, which assessed the impact of calorie labelling and food promotion on consumer choices in a simulated food environment involving 5,002 UAE residents. The study found that calorie labels, when combined with additional nutritional information, can significantly reduce the number of calories ordered. On average, participants selected approximately 114 fewer calories per meal, and 94 per cent supported the implementation of calorie labelling on menus.

Healthy Living, in partnership with the BSG, will continue to apply behavioural science to inform policy, strengthen research, and deliver targeted interventions that drive system-level change, shaping environments, expanding access, and making healthier choices easier and more natural in everyday life, while generating insights to support and inform similar initiatives across the UAE.