Blood sugar struggles? Here’s how to cope better, even in the middle of a pandemic

Doctors’ advice include using stairs and chores
May 28, 2021

EVEN before COVID-19 arrived, diabetes rates in the country were already skyrocketing to alarming levels.

The 2019 Expanded Nutrition Survey conducted by the Department of Science and Technology’s Food and Nutrition Research Institute showed that 8.2 percent of our population is already diabetic, compared to just 5.6 percent in 2013. Meanwhile, around nine percent of Filipinos could be considered as pre-diabetic.


Nine percent. That’s almost 1 in 10 people you would meet on the street, faced with a prospect of dealing with a deadly, invisible disease. But of course, because of COVID-19, there are less and less people on the streets. Many of us are forced to stay indoors because of the threat of the global pandemic — and that worries Dr. Jeremy Robles of Cebu’s Chong Hua Hospital.

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    “I would tend to agree the data [presented] is pre-pandemic,” said Robles, who is a past president of the Philippine Society of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism. “We don't really know right now what the the status is because wala namang survey nagagawa ngayon because there are limitations as to what we can do.”

    But, he added, “Even psychologically, we tend to think that people are going to have some weight gain during the pandemic kasi nasa bahay lang tayo, we don’t go out, our activities are limited. Now, I do agree that there is a risk that the number of obese or overweight Filipinos might go up during the period of the pandemic.”

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    He pointed to two main causes for this: poor choices of food and lack of exercise.


    Dr. Eleonor C. Du, a pediatrician, agrees with Robles that there is no empirical data for how much COVID-19 might have skewed the number of diabetics or pre-diabetics in the country. But she can offer some anecdotal observations from the kids she’s working with.

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    “Most children become sedentary [during the quarantine],” said Du, who is also a former president of the Philippine Society of Pediatric Metabolism and Endocrinology. “They play 24/7 on their computers. No exercise. Food is regularly accessible when they are at home, so they tend to eat out of their regular schedules. They also have the tendency to eat unhealthy junk foods or high-sugar foods.”

    Sounds painfully familiar. Excuse us while we hide our stash of chips, right behind our bottle of beer.


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    Robles and Du were speakers in a webinar hosted by global healthcare company Abbott that was touting the benefits of its new at-home continuous glucose monitoring, or CGM, tech.

    Instead of using the needle pricks of earlier blood sugar monitoring devices that measures glucose levels at a specific point in time, Abbott’s CGM device — called the FreeStyle Libre System — uses a sensor patch. It measures glucose levels using interstitial fluid, or the liquid surrounding the body's cells, measuring levels over time. A handheld device feeds you the results, and can also upload it to a web-based system so your doctor can also monitor trends.

    “Evidence suggests that real-time CGM can ensure good glycemic control and reduce the number of hospitalizations and invasive procedures,” said the company in a statement.

    Nevertheless, with or without the FreeStyle Libre System, diet and exercise remain of paramount importance, and the key weapons for diabetics and pre-diabetics alike.

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    “If I were to give my own personal experience, I'm seeing more patients gaining weight. It’s a bit concerning for me and of course for the patients as well,” said Robles.


    He added: “They all admit that it's because the choices of food are limited. Most of the time they just have their food delivered and at the same time they have limited access outside of their house because they're afraid to get COVID-19. Therefore, as the physician, we get into this very long talk — even on telemedicine — that they really have to double time on controlling their diet and even do exercises at home.”

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    One practical tip that both Robles and Du suggested? Use the open spaces and stairs of your condo as exercise spaces.

    “I advise my patients to even just go up and down the stairs,” said Dr. Du. “Do household chores. That’s already activity.”

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