There were 3.9 million Filipino adults with diabetes in 2020, according to the latest data from the International Diabetes Federation, an umbrella organization of over 240 national diabetes associations in 168 countries and territories. Diabetes was also among the leading causes of death in the country, according to the Department of Health.
Diabetes is a chronic health condition that occurs either when the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin or when the body can’t effectively use the insulin it produces. Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood sugar.
Diabetes has three main types: gestational or diabetes during pregnancy, type 1 or juvenile diabetes, and type 2 diabetes, also known as adult onset diabetes. Among the three types, type 2 diabetes can become potentially dangerous over time, causing damage to the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, and nerves.
To help prevent type 2 diabetes and its complications, AXA Philippines, one of the country’s leading insurance companies, offers these doable lifestyle tips:
Maintain a healthy weight. According to the World Health Organization, if you already have a healthy body weight, try to maintain it because being overweight only increases your chances of developing diabetes. If you’re overweight, you can prevent or delay diabetes by losing 5 to 7 percent of your starting weight. This can be easily done with at least 30 minutes of moderate to intense physical activity every day.
Improve your diet. To prevent diabetes, it’s also recommended to eat healthy food. Avoid harmful fats that can be found in packaged baked goods, fried foods in most fast-food restaurants, and any product that lists “partially hydrogenated vegetable oil” on the label.
Avoid smoking. Smoking increases the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. If you have symptoms like excessive thirst and urination, slow-healing wounds, blurry vision, fatigue, dry skin or numbing of hands or feet, consider testing your blood sugar. Diabetes can lead to expensive treatment, especially if it’s already in the late stages.
To help Filipinos manage similar expensive medical treatments, AXA Philippines offers Health Start, a health insurance plan that provides coverage for critical illnesses, including heart attack, at affordable premiums. Depending on the variant, the policy may include child coverage, with P200,000 benefit for covered child conditions like diabetes type 1 and many more.
On top of this, the policy also offers life insurance for your family. Standard premiums paid will be returned by the age of 75, while the rest will cover for illness or death until age 100.
The policy can also be shared between you and your spouse, a parent, an adult child (above 18 years old) or a sibling through the Health Start Family plan. Health Start also has flexible payment terms wherein customers can choose between 10 and 20 years to pay depending on their budget.
For more information, visit www.axa.com.ph/healthstart.