This holiday season, DQ is adding more color to your celebrations with a new collection of cold treats featuring one of the most iconic sweets of all time—M&Ms!

Join the M&Ms Spokescandies as they liven up the holidays with their fun and vibrant personalities with the new DQ x M&Ms Collection, DQ’s latest Blizzard of the Month offer, which comes in six different creations!

First are three new Blizzards made with DQ’s creamy vanilla soft serve mixed with M&Ms candy pieces: the Nutty Blizzard, a dreamy dessert elevated by the interplay of chewy and crunchy; the Choco Fudge Blizzard, for those who seek the ultimate chocolatey treat; and the Caramel Brownie Blizzard, made with bite-seized brownies and caramel topping to satisfy any sweet tooth.

Joining these limited-edition Blizzards is the new M&Ms Parfait, made with layers of soft serve and chocolate topping and then topped with whipped cream and M&Ms. For those who want to enjoy ice cream cakes on the go, there’s the new M&Ms Tin Cake, which comes in a reusable tin can.

There’s also the new M&Ms Blizzard Cake, a 100-percent ice cream cake made with DQ’s signature soft serve, cake crunch, and chocolate fudge center mixed with M&Ms, garnished with cake frosting and then topped with even more M&Ms. It is available in 6-inch and 8-inch variants.

The Nutty, Choco Fudge, and Caramel Brownie M&Ms Blizzards are available in Mini, Regular, Medium, and Large starting at P99. The M&Ms Parfait is priced at P179, while the M&Ms Tin Cake is priced at P439 each. Lastly, the M&Ms Blizzard Cake is priced at P749 for the 6-inch cake and at P1,199 for the 8-inch cake.

Enjoy these offers anytime by visiting your nearest DQ store for dine-in and take out orders. You can also order for delivery by calling the 8911-1111 hotline or by logging on to www.dairyqueen.com.ph. DQ is also available through its official delivery partners GrabFood, foodpanda, and Pickaroo (prices may vary).

Stay updated with the latest promos and offers from DQ by following and giving the brand a like on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram or by visiting the official website at www.dairyqueen.com.ph.

Women in low- and middle-income countries, especially in the Sub-Saharan Africa region, may be 10 times more likely to have obesity or heart health issues than their male counterparts, according to a large meta-analysis published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Obesity is a chronic disease characterized by an individual having an excess of body fat or abnormal fat accumulation. People who have obesity are at an increased risk for other serious diseases and health conditions.

Obesity kills at least 2.8 million people per year, yet the public still does not recognize it as a disease, and anti-obesity medications are still under prescribed and hard to access. Obesity is preventable, but according to the World Health Organization, the disease has nearly tripled since 1975. In 2016, 52% of adults and over 340 million children and teens were considered to have overweight or obesity.

“Our findings are important as they call for urgent actions targeting obesity awareness, prevention, treatment, and control in women in low- and middle-income countries,” said study author Thaís Rocha, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Birmingham in Birmingham, U.K. 

The researchers included 3,916,276 people in the meta-analysis and found obesity does not manifest evenly across women and men in low- and middle-income countries, with women being 2-3 times more likely to be affected than men. They found the greatest disparity in the risk of obesity between women and men is in the Sub-Saharan region, where women are up to 10 times more likely to have obesity than men.

Senior study author Shakila Thangaratinam, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Birmingham said, “For the first time, we are able to assess the extent of poor metabolic health faced by women compared to men in low- and middle-income countries. Funders and policymakers need to implement woman- centered measures addressing the underlying social, cultural and behavioral factors to improve their long-term metabolic health.”

The authors shared a few examples of the factors contributing to the higher rate of obesity in these women including:

• Weight gain during pregnancy and menopause. 
• Beliefs that larger body types indicate high socioeconomic status, and fertility associated obesity in women as a sign of “wealth and health.”
• Obesity risk seems to be positively and significantly associated with childhood deprivation in women but not men.
• Women are also more likely to be influenced than men by other factors predisposing them to obesity, such as poor dietary habits, sedentary lifestyles and price inflation.  

The other authors of this study are Eka Melson of the University of Birmingham; Javier Zamora of the University of Birmingham, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal (IRYCIS) and the CIBERESP Instituto de Salud Carlos III in Madrid, Spain; Borja Fernandez-Felix of the CIBERESP Instituto de Salud Carlos III; and Wiebke Arlt of the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Medical Sciences and Imperial College London, U.K.

The manuscript,“Sex-Specific Obesity and Cardiometabolic Disease Risks in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Meta-Analysis Involving 3,916,276 Individuals,” was published online.

Insurance Asia Awards, one of the prestigious recognition programs honoring the most outstanding insurance companies in Asia Pacific, cited Pru Life UK as the International Life Insurer of the Year – Philippines for the third year. The award-giving body recognized Pru Life UK’s innovations, new products, strategic partnerships, and community investment initiatives related to youth financial literacy, climate health risk management, and OFW protection.

“We are deeply honored to receive this coveted award for the third time in a row. Our heartfelt thanks to our employees, agency force, distribution partners, and more especially, our loyal customers for this remarkable feat,” said Allan Tumbaga, Pru Life UK Executive Vice President and Chief Customer & Marketing Officer.

Adding to its growing list of accolades, Pru Life UK was also conferred with a Bronze Stevie at the recent Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards for the Innovation in Internal Corporate Events category. The Byaheng PRU Engagement Program, a project of its Employee Welfare Committee, has been instrumental in fostering collaboration among employees from various divisions and empowering over 900 full-time employees to lead their own company-wide initiatives for growth and success.

Empowering Filipinos through financial inclusion and affordable protection

Over the past years, Pru Life UK has championed financial awareness, literacy, and inclusion among Filipinos through innovative insurance products.

One such product, PRUHealth FamLove, is a pioneering critical illness protection plan that covers up to 4 family members in a single policy, including adopted families, cohabiting couples, and same-sex partners.

Furthermore, through strategic partnerships with popular e-commerce platforms GCash and Shopee, Pru Life UK has made bite-sized insurance products even more accessible to its customers.

“These recognitions inspire us to continue fulfilling our commitment to helping more Filipino families live healthier and wealthier. With our over 40,000 digitally empowered agency force, we remain dedicated to putting our customers at the heart of everything we do by providing inclusive and affordable products addressing their diverse needs,” said Tumbaga.

These awards mark another milestone for Pru Life UK as Prudential plc, its parent company, celebrates its 175th anniversary, including 100 years in Asia.