An Evening with Numb3rs: So What?

A  OneTouch Diabetes Awareness Event

Over the years, more and more Filipinos are diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. According to the National Nutrition Health Survey in 2008, the prevalence rate of Diabetes in the Philippines is 4.8%. The numbers are growing and not a lot of Filipinos know exactly what to do when their doctors give them the magic numbers, their blood glucose measures. LifeScan, a company under Johnson & Johnson Medical Philippines, wishes to address this problem by increasing awareness about proper diabetes management among Filipinos by holding diabetes awareness events such as the one held on May 26, 2012 evening at Max’s Restaurant, Gateway Mall.

Key Highlights of the Diabetes Awareness Event:

Free Pre-meal and Post-meal Blood Glucose Screening

using the OneTouch SelectSimple Glucose Meter

Max’s Meal Set for Dinner

Testimonial from Mr. Alex Villareal about Dealing with Diabetes

The Highlight of the Event: An Evening with Numb3rs – So What?

A Talk by Dr. John Vincent Policarpio G. Flores, MD, M.Sc., MBA

A raffle where 13 lucky guests won either a bag of Healthy Options cookies

or a Diabetes Recipe Book

The main speaker for the event was Dr. John Flores, a BS Public Health graduate from UP, Doctor of Medicine, MBA graduate from the Ateneo de Manila Graduate School of Business, an Epidemiology and Biostatistics consultant, who is also the current ASEAN Medical Affairs Director in Johnson & Johnson Medical. He specializes in holding professional education programs for Diabetes and chronic diseases and doing clinical studies on the optimization of glycemic control. His talk on the OneTouch Diabetes Awareness Event in Max’s Restaurant focused on diabetes essentials, risk factors, how to know if you have diabetes, the importance of diabetes management, how to deal with diabetes, and how to choose a good meter.

Overall, there were 42 people who attended the event, 31 of whom were bloggers and 6 of whom were diagnosed with diabetes. The event was dubbed as a huge success and many of the guests had something wonderful to share about what they have learned about diabetes.

This event was just a stepping stone in the campaign towards promoting diabetes awareness. The main goal of the event was to reach out to the bloggers so that they can likewise inspire their readers to acknowledge diabetes as a disease that cannot be taken for granted. According to Dr. John Flores, diabetes does not just call for additional medical expenses; it calls for a lifestyle change – a change towards a healthier way of living life.