November 12, 2025 | 6:07pm
MANILA, Philippines — Doctors and diabetes specialists are calling on employers to be make workplaces more friendly to people living with diabetes, a huge population of which are of working age.
Two days before the commemoration of World Diabetes Day on November 14, health group Diabetes Philippines organized a media roundtable in a Mandaluyong mall to discuss addressing diabetes in the workplace.
“Diabetes doesn’t clock in or out,” said the organization’s president Fatma Tiu, an Internal Medicine doctor and diabetes specialist.
Dr. Tiu pointed out that stressful work environments make it hard for people living with diabetes to manage the disease.
She shared global data from the International Diabetes Federation that 7 in 10 people living with diabetes are of working age, 4 in 5 people suffer from diabetes burnout (having to deal with being diabetic), and 3 in 4 people experience anxiety, depression, or other mental health conditions as a result of living with diabetes.
Closer to home, an estimated 4.73 million Filipinos aged 20 to 79 live with diabetes and over 2.5 million remain undiagnosed, again many of them part of the Philippines’ active workforce.
The doctor even said that the modern Filipino workplace has become a major contributor to lifestyle diseases because of long hours, irregular eating habits, and limited movement.
Diabetes Philippines treasurer Dr. Reynaldo Rosales clarified that diabetes is non-communicable so any stigma originates from external sources.
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Dr. Rosales stressed that obesity is heavily linked to diabetes as excess fat leads to insulin resistance and eventually high blood sugar levels.
“Weight management should have a critical role in the workplace,” Dr. Rosales suggested, who said that 30 to 40% of individuals above 20 years old are considered obese, and half of those are in the workplace.
One Clark-based board member of Diabetes Philippines shared that many BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) workers are obese or have metabolic issues as a result of late schedules, frequent fast food intake, smoking, and inactivity, leading to a messed-up circadian rhythm (the internal body clock).
Dr. Tiu therefore suggested that if an office has a canteen, employers should offer access to low-cost healthy food choices.
Other proposals she gave were dedicated spaces (for glucose monitoring, insulin injections, and group exercises), adjusted breaks since meals are dependent on diabetes medications, and consideration for doctor appointments.
Dr. Rosales chipped in employers could offer standing desks to support mobility and 10-minute breaks allowing for small stretches.
One last piece of advice he gave employees was to take the stairs instead of elevators. As for those on higher floor, the doctor suggested getting off two floors earlier and taking the stairs the rest of the way.
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