MANILA, Philippines - As part of its Healthy Lifestyle Program, the Parañaque City government under the leadership of Mayor Florencio Bernabe Jr. recently sponsored a free Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS) exam for city employees in observance of World Diabetes Day.
The activity was organized by the City Health Office headed by Dr. Olga Virtusio and was coordinated by health education and promotions officer Dr. Geraldine Ligaya Yangson. It was held under the auspices of well-meaning companies Ritemed and Diabetasol.
“There are many people who are not aware that they are at risk of developing diabetes hence it is imperative for everybody to adopt a healthy lifestyle and undergo FBS check at regular intervals as their physicians recommend,” says Mayor Bernabe.
Diabetes is a chronic disease caused by insulin deficiency or resistance and is characterized by disturbances in carbohydrate, protein, and fat metabolism. It is classified under Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (IDDM) or Type I and Non-Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (NIDDM) or Type II.
Most cases of diabetes are strongly influenced by heredity and other factors such as obesity, physiologic or emotional stress, pregnancy and oral contraceptives which increase levels of estrogen and placental hormones as well as other medications that are known insulin antagonists.
Symptoms of the disease include fatigue, frequent urination, excessive thirst, dry mucous membranes and poor skin condition, excessive desire to eat in IDDM and weight loss. Treatments among IDDMs are injections of regular and NPH insulin and continuous subcutaneous insulin fusion (insulin pump). Treatments for NIDDMs consist of oral hypoglycemics that stimulate endrogenous insulin production and may also increase insulin sensitivity at the cellular level.