Biking a new way to curb diabetes cases

Dr. Ma. Luz Vicenta Guanzon used to play badminton many times a week to keep fit and stay healthy. But when the Philippine Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism board director started feeling aches in her knees she decided to cut back on the sports and try biking for a change.

“Biking is less stressful in the knee and as I found out, it’s more fun. Also, many people don’t realize that biking is one form of exercise that diabetic could do to keep his or her condition at bay,” Guanzon says.

In fact, biking has become the centerpiece of PSEM’s annual activity to observe World Diabetes Day.

“Actually, this year is PSEM’s second time in spearheading Go Bike Pilipinas, which was recently held in Bacolod,” says Guanzon, who chairs the Go Bike Pilipinas 2008. 

The Go Bike Pilipinas was launched last year as part of the PSEM’s program to celebrate World Diabetes Day declared by the World Health Organization every Nov. 14, through the efforts of the International Diabetes Federation.

The purpose of Go Bike Pilipinas is to advocate for proper diet and regular exercise like biking as well as walking to curb the rising epidemic of obesity and diabetes and other lifestyle diseases, such as high bad cholesterol and triglyceride levels which lead to heart disease, hypertension, and osteoporosis.

“In the long run, the event also aims to lobby legislators locally and nationally to pass laws setting up sidewalks and bike lanes in all towns and cities,” Guanzon says.

“Go Bike Pilipinas is a society-wide call to action. We need fresh ideas and community innovations to help make physical activity a vital part of our lives. We could make all the TV and newspaper ads but if they do not have sidewalks or bike lanes, positive reinforcement from doctors, or time in their busy days for physical activity, they will not commit to an active lifestyle,” she says.

Guanzon cites a recent report that the total number of people with diabetes worldwide has risen from 30 million to 230 million in the past 20 years.

“The most alarming, however, is that even obese children as young as eight to nine years old, go on to develop Type 2 diabetes at that age,” Guanzon says. 

According to the same report, most of the increases in diabetic cases are those with Type 2 diabetes, a condition resulting from high blood sugar and which accounts for nearly 90 percent of all diabetes cases in the world. 

Type 1 diabetes usually only occurs in young children and infants, and is caused when the pancreas no longer produces insulin because the body’s immune system has malfunctioned and attacked the cells that are responsible for insulin production.

Apart from healthy diet and regular exercise, taking one’s medication on time is also important. For example, Sanofi-Aventis’ Lantus SoloSTAR, the new pre-filled disposable insulin pen for once-daily, 24-hour insulin (insulin glargine) could provide people with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes an effective treatment for hyperglycemia (high blood sugar).