No wonder Philippines has a diabetes problem

[Kingpin]

20 hours ago, fillipino_wannabe said:

mostly because the Philippines population is so young, media age here is 25 compared to 38 in the US.

I just picked the US and Canada out of the 120 countries who have more diabetes cases than the Philippines, many of the others also have a young population including Cambodia, Thailand, etc

[Possum]

On 9/24/2023 at 8:01 PM, Viking said:

I am only guessing now, but in countries like the Philippines, I think the unrecorded cases are pretty big

From my observation medical reporting in the Philippines is very poor and diabetes as well as high blood pressure are under treated, if diagnosed at all.

[Hestecrefter]

34 minutes ago, Possum said:

From my observation medical reporting in the Philippines is very poor and diabetes as well as high blood pressure are under treated, if diagnosed at all.

I would say you are absolutely right there.  There are millions there who seldom, if ever, see a physician.  I suspect that quite a few of those millions have undiagnosed diabetes and/or high blood pressure.  Hard to know one is afflicted by either unless very far advanced and producing obvious symptoms.

[craftbeerlover]

4 hours ago, Possum said:

From my observation medical reporting in the Philippines is very poor and diabetes as well as high blood pressure are under treated, if diagnosed at all.

Not only that, a vast majority of Filipinos never go to a Doctor (unless they absolutely have to)   quack quack Dr.s are still used much more than what many people would believe.   Filipinos (generally speaking), do not trust medically trained Doctors and would rather see a Dr that puts saliva on your forehead and waves banaba leaves over your body.   My guess is diabetes is at least double or triple of what is being reported (as well as other illnesses).   A steady diet of white rice, salted dried fish, taba etc...    Really a shame, too.   Most Filipinos do not even know their diet is bad, as it is not taught in schools or in the homes. 

[Onemore52]

Also worth a mention is the affects of the cheap gin that is still the norm at gatherings, the damage it does to the kidneys and the liver is now showing up in the 

older generation of adults. Even worse if they have been drinking it when it was really cheap to buy.

[Kingpin]

6 hours ago, craftbeerlover said:

My guess is diabetes is at least double or triple of what is being reported (as well as other illnesses).   A steady diet of white rice, salted dried fish, taba

Everyone's "guessing" here, but one thing is known: diabetes isn't caused by dried fish or taba.  Biggest diet problem in the Philippines isn't the native food, it's the 'soft drinks', the brown / orange / green stuff.

[craftbeerlover]

7 hours ago, Kingpin said:

Everyone's "guessing" here, but one thing is known: diabetes isn't caused by dried fish or taba.  Biggest diet problem in the Philippines isn't the native food, it's the 'soft drinks', the brown / orange / green stuff.

Biggest contributor is the white rice, which is about as "native" as one can get in the Philippines.   Also a high salt diet can/does increase the risk of getting type 2 diabetes.   Having said that, I  included salt and fat specifically to point out really poor eating habits overall, which does include soda as you mentioned. 

[scott h]

47 minutes ago, craftbeerlover said:

Biggest contributor

something to be said for the lack of exercise for all except the laboring class

 

[OnMyWay]

15 hours ago, craftbeerlover said:

My guess is diabetes is at least double or triple of what is being reported (as well as other illnesses).

Diabetes cases are under reported in many countries.  There are very high estimates of how many people have undiagnosed pre-diabetes or diabetes in Western countries.

[OnMyWay]

1 hour ago, craftbeerlover said:

Also a high salt diet can/does increase the risk of getting type 2 diabetes.   Having said that, I  included salt and fat specifically to point out really poor eating habits overall, which does include soda as you mentioned. 

I was pre-diabetic and with many other health problems 3 years ago.  Now I eat all the salt I want, and eat a high animal fat / high protein diet.  Very low carbohydrates.  No seed oils.  Pre-diabetes, gone.  HBP, gone.  Lost almost 100 lbs.  Etc., etc.

Sugar in all forms is the culprit, not salt and fat.

Regarding Filipinos, in the lower class, they can have a poor diet and get away with it for years because they might not eat that much, and exercise / work all day.  Exercise goes a long way to counteract bad diet but the bad diet may catch up to you when you are getting older.

Middle and upper class Filipinos, in addition to all the rice, may eat lots of bad stuff like Americans do.  They are more likely to see doctors and be diagnosed with blood sugar / insulin related issues.  I see lots of dialysis centers here, and I suspect many of the patients have diabetes.