The United Arab Emirates in many ways resembles another “United” country — the United States.

And perhaps the most direct correlation is the Emirati preference for the same sort of fast food and rich food that many Americans also enjoy.

To it: The Cheesecake Factory.

The Cheesecake Factory is a California-based chain known for enormous portions and, yes, cheesecake — which is to healthy diets what booze is to alcoholics.

The UAE loves KFC to death, and McDonalds is not far behind. Burger King is here, and Pizza Hut and Dunkin’ Donuts …

Both Abu Dhabi and Dubai have TGI Friday’s, and each of the UAE’s biggest cities also have just about every British food chain ever invented, too.

The current toast of Dubai is the Cheesecake Factory, as this story in The National outlines.

More than 2,000 customers served daily, long waits for tables, lots and lots and lots of cheesecake being sold.

The Dubai store is the first overseas outlet for the Cheesecake Factory, and if it is any indication of how the resto will be accepted in this region … buy stock in the company, if it is publicly traded.

The resto may be more popular here than back in the States. The cheesecake apparently is.

Writes our food reviewer:

“… early reports suggest that cheesecake is going to be even more popular in the UAE than in the U.S.; sales of the dessert account for 20 percent of the restaurant’s total, whereas in America the percentage hovers around the 10 to 15 percent mark.”

The resto’s director of operations said: “Everyone’s having dessert. In the States a lot of people will split a dessert; here everyone seems to want their own.”

And the consumers are getting the real deal, our reporter informs us. The cheesecake is made in the company’s central kitchen in Calabasas, California to ensure consistency and quality control.

And it isn’t cheap. Which makes sense for cheesecake that was made about 11,000 miles from it is consumed. A slice costs 32 dirhams — or about $8.70.

The writer notes that perhaps Emiratis don’t really need to be eating at the Cheesecake Factory. To be sure, obesity and Type 2 diabetes are major problems here.

Writes our reviewer: “What does it say about the UAE’s developing dining that the most popular opening so far this year is an American chain restaurant, specializing in calorie-, fat- and sugar-laden desserts?”

What does it say? It says that Emirati tastes often are not far different from American tastes. Good for American expats who want to taste a bit of home. Not so good for those consuming these mega-meals with cheesecake at the end.