The increasing number of diabetics in the country has prompted doctors to remind the public to reform their eating habits and include in their diet the kinds of food that will help lower the risk of developing diabetes.

Experts from the Philippine Society of Endocrine and Metabolic diseases (PSEM) warned that bad eating habits — specifically patronizing fast food restaurants and eating sugary meals and drinks -- have increased the number of diabetes sufferers in the country.

A recent study by the International Diabetes Foundation (IDF) revealed that Filipinos aged 20 to 79 who are suffering from diabetes have climbed to 3.4 million compared to 2 million in 2003.

The National Nutrition and Health Survey of 2003 pegged the number of diabetic Filipinos at 25 percent. While many Filipinos think that rice makes a person fat, Dr. Gabriel V. Jasul Jr. PSEM secretary, said it is the sauce and other add-ons that increase the calorie-count.

“Rice itself is healthy, but what we add on it are the ones that make us fat, including the serving size. In the past, two cups of rice are more than enough especially if you are a farmer or a person who is very active because you really burn the calories,” Dr. Jasul told a forum organized by the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) in Quezon City on Tuesday.

Endocrinologist Dr. Nemencio A. Nicodemus Jr. said genes also play an important role in developing diabetes.

But he said the disease is escalating because many people are getting fat. “Diabetics are increasing because obesity in the country is also increasing,” he said.

He also said there are races that are more prone to diabetes such as Indians. “Whether they eat more or less, they are at higher risk to becoming diabetics.”

Meanwhile, Diabetes Philippines President Tommy Willing the other day said the increasing number of diabetics in the country is truly alarming as it also carries complications that are quite hard to manage.

"It's increasing at an alarming rate and it does not end there. If you have diabetes, you are at risk of developing so many complications which are also very costly to treat and manage,”  Willing told the press in a conference as prelude to the World Diabetes Day on November 14.

IDF defines type 1 diabetes as an "autoimmune disease characterized by the destruction of the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.”

Meanwhile, type 2 diabetes is when a person is having resistance to insulin.

Willing said there are 531,250 individuals who were found suffering from impaired glucose Tolerance (IGT) who may also develop diabetes later.

IGT occurs when the blood sugar level of a person is higher than normal but below the level of a person with diabetes, IDF said.

The Belgium-based IDF also revealed that 3.8 percent of Filipino children below 14 years old have type 1 diabetes.

The Asian Association for the Study of Diabetes is also studying why Asians are largely at risk for diabetes because of genetics.

Dr. Patricia Gatbonton, PSEM president, advised the public to eat at least one bowl of oatmeal a day as oatmeal can naturally bring down blood sugar and reduce cholesterol naturally.