A reporter for The National had a look at the food for sale in the cafeterias at three of the biggest government hospitals in Abu Dhabi …

And few, if any, healthy choices were available.

Eating at the hospital was enough to make people sick.

The story started with the findings of our reporter: Prominent among the hospital cafeteria choices were fried chicken wings, pizza, cake, muffins, French fries (chips, as they are known in Britain) and pasta with cream sauce.

The second half of the two-story package sought reaction from experts, and they reacted, all right. Pretty much with horror. The consensus seemed to be hospital cafeterias had an emergency on their hands.

A doctor in Dubai said: “Junk food is one of the major causes of obesity. All these foods are junk food. Junk food should definitely be banned from hospitals. In my opinion, hospitals should lead by example.

“If cafes and canteens in hospitals are selling junk food and unhealthy diets, what can we say to other businesses?”

A dietician said: “Definitely, this is setting a very bad example.”

Obesity and adult-onsite diabetes are major health concerns in the UAE, particularly among the Emirati population.

The UAE has its fair share of fast food eateries, and perhaps moreso. KFC is the most popular of the global chains, here in the UAE, with McDonalds second.

Vegetables certainly are available here, and a considerable number of vegetarians can be found — most, however, are from India.

Preumably, our health reporter already is planning a followup story.

A month or two from now, expect an update on what hospitals are serving in the cafeteria. Broccoli should be on their somewhere.