World Diabetes Day marked

MANILA, Philippines - Diabetes care pioneer and innovator Novo Nordisk kicked off the annual commemoration of World Diabetes Day at Saint Pedro Poveda College last Nov. 11, together with 800 students, faculty members and healthcare professionals.

In line with the World Diabetes Day theme for 2009-2013 which is “Diabetes Education and Prevention,” and the slogan for the 2013 campaign “Diabetes: Protect Our Future,” Novo Nordisk, together with the Saint Pedro Poveda College, began the observance to raise diabetes awareness and prevention through education.

Novo Nordisk country manager Christine Rosal said, “The youth and their awareness through education is best embodied by partnering with one of the top schools in the country. Caring for our future also means caring for the youth because our future relies on their health and education.”

Dr. Susan Yu-Gan, past president of Diabetes Philippines, gave a short lecture about the disease, its risks and implications.

“Those who display clinical features of the disease which are tiredness, dry mouth, frequent urination, blurred vision and weight loss may be at risk, particularly if there is a history of diabetes in the family,” she said.

Also present in the talk were Dolores Sepacio, chief of health services of Saint Pedro Poveda, and Dr. Gwendolyn Reyes-Amurao, the school’s attending physician.

Yu-Gan informed the students how they can actively prevent diabetes through proper diet, regular physical activity such as aerobic exercise, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

The prevalence of diabetes spans across all age groups, affecting even the youth since the average age of a diabetic person is growing younger.

Diabetes, a metabolic disorder in which the person has high blood glucose, can easily be monitored through capillary blood glucose testing. One glucose test commonly used is the finger prick test due to its instantaneous results.

World Diabetes Day has been observed globally on Nov. 14 since its inception in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation and the World Health Organization in response to the growing concern and escalating health threats the disease poses.

The blue circle, originally used for a United Nations campaign on diabetes, is the universal symbol of diabetes as it symbolizes life, health and unity in raising awareness and battling the pandemic worldwide.

Novo Nordisk’s history with the IDF began in 2007, bringing together millions of people from all over the world every year. World Diabetes Day is an official UN World Health Day.