Sweet Escape: Not an ordinary diabetes event

MANILA, Philippines - DiabetEASE magazine recently marked its fourth anniversary dubbed “The Sweet Escape” at the Activity Center of Market! Market!

The Sweet Escape was anything but an ordinary diabetes event. For two days, the event made guests experience the fun they could get from having a healthy lifestyle.

In the open-for-all affair, guests enjoyed various treats for free: massage treatments, fitness activities featuring an indoor basketball and an inflatable velcro wall, sampling of sugar-free goodies, bone density testing, and blood sugar testing.

The two-day event was highlighted by programs that featured cooking demos of healthy, diabetic-friendly dishes by DiabetEASE magazine’s resident chef, nutritionist and dietician Marilen Fontanilla. 

The programs also featured lay forums led by some of the country’s top endocrinologists and diabetologists: Dr. Augusto Litonjua, father of Philippine endocrinology; Dr. Richard Elwyn Fernando, Diabetes Philippines director and St. Luke’s Medical Center consultant in diabetes; and Dr. Susan Yu-Gan, Metropolitan Medical Center consultant in endocrinology.

These health experts answered common queries about diabetes, discussed the importance of keeping a healthy lifestyle to prevent the onset of this disease, and provided other relevant information on diabetes.

DiabetEASE magazine advocates diabetes prevention and aims to encourage diabetic patients to live their lives well.

Across the globe, diabetes mellitus is fast becoming a major concern. According to the Philippine Association of Diabetes Educators, in the Philippines alone, around 500 are being diagnosed with diabetes every day, adding to the estimated three million Filipinos who are already inflicted by this condition.

The worse part is, the figures don’t stop there. According to estimates by the World Health Organization, cases of diabetes in the Philippines will go up, and will make the country one of the top 10 countries with the highest number of diabetic patients by 2030.

“Diabetes mellitus is a devastating disease. It is one of the leading causes of blindness, kidney failure, and leg amputations around the world,” said Dr. Joy Fontanilla, editor-in-chief of DiabetEASE magazine.

“Unfortunately, many Filipinos are ignorant of this disease. There may be a plethora of information regarding diabetes, but some are misleading, and could be potentially harmful to many patients,” she added.

DiabetEASE magazine is published by FAME Inc., which is also the publisher of Health & Lifestyle, Zen Health, Travel Plus, as well as Disney magazines such as Hannah Montana, Tinker Bell, and The World of Cars.