MABUHAY! Its my first article and would like to thank first and foremost Mr. Jun Angeles and his staff for giving me this opportunity to reach out to our kababayans.
It has been on a daily basis that I meet Filipinos who are either overweight or obese. Diabetes, hypertension, gout and heart disease tops the list of problems I see everyday. There’s a high incidence of these amongst us Filipinos. Where else will get these from? Our preference to meat, fatty foods and rice three times a day.
“Mahirap kase Dok! Ang sarap kase eh!” This is our weakness-food–unhealthy food.
What’s the first thing that you’ll see on the table during the Filipino parties and gatherings? Kare-kare, dinuguan, sisig, and bopis. And, to warm you up, we have papaitan. Rarely will you see a vegetable salad or dip. Our diet obviously dates back to our culture which we need to change. White rice, white bread and potatoes are the most notorious for weight gain. What then shall we eat? Focus more on vegetables, fruits and fish.
Obesity is one of the major concern as it is linked to most of these problems. One way of measuring how healthy your weight is through your B.M.I. (Body mass index)
It computes your weight with your height. The normal B.M.I. is 17-25, 26-30 means your overweight and anything above that means you have a serious problem (obesity).
As we get older, our metabolism slows down and you will find it harder and harder to lose weight. The earlier you lose weight, the better. Its not the looks nor the physique which we are after, but its the disease that goes with obesity. Many of us are not aware, but Alberta Health/P.C.N. provides us free access to dietician advise.
We have in our clinic a dietician that comes once a week and a specialist (Dr Jean Silvano) that specializes in obesity, hypertension and thyroid problems.
Most, if not all, of our ailments comes from what we put inside our body. There is no other way to lessen the incidence of these health problems other than discipline, education and awareness. These generation needs to change for our children to follow. It wont be easy, but it can be done.
As I’ve always been saying to my patients: Watch out your diet…diet…and more diet….
