McDonald’s Philippines achieved record-breaking sales in 2022, surpassing its pre-pandemic (2019) sales performance. 

Owned and operated by its Chairman and Owner Dr. George T. Yang and President and CEO Kenneth Yang— the quick service restaurant (QSR) giant attributes its performance not just to strong consumer mobility and post-pandemic behavior but to its continuous commitment to providing value for money, exciting limited-time menu offers, and an elevated omnichannel customer experience. 

“McDonald’s Philippines’ strong performance in 2022 wouldn’t have been possible if not for the trust and continuous support of our customers all over the country. As we aim to consistently improve how we serve McDonald’s favorites to every Filipino, we are equally committed to providing feel-good experiences to our people [crew and managers] who make it all happen in our stores, and in communities where we operate for many years to come,” said Kenneth Yang, President and CEO of McDonald’s Philippines. 

Feeling good, feeling safe

From its first store opening in Morayta, Manila in 1981, McDonald’s Philippines continues to uphold global food safety and quality standards in the preparation and service of its food whether through dine-in, take-out, Drive-Thru, or McDelivery.  

This was further strengthened during the pandemic as part of its M Safe program, introduced in 2020.  

The company doubledowned on food safety and quality efforts through continuous monitoring, and crew and manager training, which contributed to its thirdparty food safety audit results and customer perception scores on safety and trust.

Since the launch of M Safe, the company’s findings on ‘brand trust’ increased by 5.4% which contributed to increased dine-in guest count, lifting market share for McDonald’s in 2022.

Setting the standard for doing good 

McDonald’s takes pride in its global learning and development programs from Crew Training to Restaurant Leadership courses to its Digital Academy. As one of the biggest employers in the country, McDonald’s Philippines believes that everyone has the opportunity to grow and succeed in the company which starts by first having job security. McDonald’s is the first quick-service restaurant in the country to practice a direct hiring policy, providing regular employment to all its crew members. In 2022, McDonald’s Philippines hired more than 17,000 new employees in support of its new store openings—employing working students regardless of race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. 

To date, the company has close to 60,000 employees in over 700 stores across the Philippines— with over 47,000 employees in Luzon, close to 6,000 employees in Visayas, and 5,000 employees in Mindanao.  

Serving meals with kindness 

McDonald’s also prioritizes its commitment to the communities where it operates. To serve meals to underserved families without access to food, McDonald’s Philippines launched the Kindness Kitchen, a flagship program of its charity of choice, Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC). 

In December 2022, Kindness Kitchen has served over 800,000 meals, a 33% increase from 600,000 meals served in May. The initiative aims to serve 1 million meals by the end of 2023. 

By continuously improving the quality of food, providing growth opportunities to its people, and creating a positive impact in communities, McDonald’s exemplifies always being a step ahead in upholding its commitment to world-class excellence. 

Yang reiterates, “It is these customers we serve, the people working in our restaurants and communities that we help that inspire and motivate us to be and do better. As many Filipinos continue to face challenges and recover from the pandemic, we want to be a place where they can experience feel-good moments. We want to be a company that Filipinos today and the future can trust.” 

Early detection of diseases can aid in saving lives, giving patients more time to seek effective treatments that help lessen and possibly cure their symptoms. Shinagawa Diagnostic & Preventive Care Center takes this a step further and encourages preventive healthcare by offering more thorough and advanced examinations with the support of Fujifilm Philippines Inc.

Committed to upholding high standard medical services, Shinagawa announces its partnership with Fujifilm Philippines Inc, an expert in prevention and diagnostics technology, in a signing ceremony today at Shangri-La The Fort. Through the collaboration, Shinagawa’s Diagnostic & Preventive Care Center acquires Fujifilm’s endoscopy equipment to conduct advanced testing for the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, which includes the esophagus, stomach, and small intestine. This helps identify emerging diseases, such as stomach ulcers, gastrointestinal disorders, lung problems, and possibly tumors. The technology eases the detection process as it can spot even the smallest abnormality using endoscopes that place minimal stress on the patient.  

“It is of utmost importance to conduct detailed examinations regularly to find diseases at an early stage, leading to preventive care. In particular, Fujifilm’s endoscopy equipment enables early detection of diseases that could not be found in advance by general medical checkups in the Philippines, and we believe this will lead to preventive medicine,” said Masako Uemori, President of Shinagawa LASIK and Aesthetics, Philippines.

Fujifilm Philippines Inc guarantees the prime condition and maintenance of equipment to ensure that all examinations produce in-depth results for more accurate diagnosis. The diagnostics technology company will also be conducting a series of training sessions for Shinagawa doctors and staff to fully regulate the use of the machines, assuring safe and accurate examinations. Through the synergy of Shinagawa’s Japanese-standard medical services and Fujifilm’s innovative healthcare equipment, improved quality of life, diagnosis, and prevention are now made more accessible.

The Shinagawa Diagnostic & Preventive Care will have its grand opening this April. Those who are interested in the center may check out Shinagawa’s official Facebook page @ShinagawaDiagnostic or the official website at www.shinagawa-healthcare.ph to book an appointment. Shinagawa Diagnostic & Preventive Care Center is located at Ore Central Tower, BGC.

Poor blood sugar control could be associated with higher core body temperature and increased heart rate for physically active men with type 2 diabetes. The research published in Experimental Physiology found that while a common marker of long-term blood sugar control, haemoglobin A1c (also called glycated haemoglobin), was not associated with differences in the amount of heat lost  from the body, heart rate rose by six beats per minute and core body temperature increased by 0.2°C with each percentage point rise in haemoglobin A1c (from 5.1% to 9.1%) in men with type 2 diabetes during cycling in a heated chamber.

People with type 2 diabetes can have a reduced ability to lose heat, which can heighten their risk of developing a heat-related injury during a heat stress. However, the cause of the reduced capacity to dissipate heat is not well understood. This health issue is becoming more relevant as countries around the globe experience more frequent and enduring temperature extremes as well as hotter average summer temperatures, such as the global heat waves of 2022.

Researchers from University of Ottawa, Canada sought to identify whether blood sugar control affects the body’s ability to lose heat during exercise in the heat. Although worse blood sugar control did not seem to impair whole-body heat loss, the association between chronically elevated blood sugar (indexed via haemoglobin A1c) with higher body core temperatures and heart rate could implicate its role in thermoregulation. Importantly, this effect did not appear to be related to the physical fitness of the participants. The findings suggest that among people with type 2 diabetes, poor blood sugar control could lead to a greater risk of reaching dangerously high core body temperatures and greater strain on the heart during physical activity in the heat. However, more research is needed to confirm this link and understand why these impairments are observed even when heat loss is not compromised.

Dr. Glen Kenny, University of Ottawa, Canada, who leads the team said, “Previous research showed ageing is associated with a decay in the body’s ability to dissipate heat, which is more pronounced in individuals with type 2 diabetes.  However, it remained unclear to what extent long-term blood sugar control may mediate this response. By examining whole-body heat exchange using our one-of-a-kind whole-body air calorimeter (a device that provides a precise measurement of the heat dissipated by the human body), we were able to gain a better understanding of the association between long-term blood sugar control and the body’s physiological capacity to dissipate heat in individuals with type 2 diabetes.”

Regular exercise is generally recommended to manage and improve blood sugar control. However, rising global temperatures and enduring heat waves make it challenging for people living with type 2 diabetes to manage the disease because current health guidelines advise to avoid exercising in hot weather. People with type 2 diabetes are also at greater risk of heat-related stress, the risk of which increases with age.

The researchers monitored blood sugar control by measuring the proportion of glycated haemoglobin in the blood. This is haemoglobin (a protein molecule in red blood cells that carry oxygen) with sugar molecules attached to it and reflects the last approximate 3 months of blood sugar control. A normal healthy glycated haemoglobin level is 4-6%, while a good level for an individual with diabetes is ≤7%.

26 physically active men aged 43-73 years, who had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes for 5 years or more, performed an exercise heat stress test, which involved cycling in the calorimeter set to 40°C. After 30 minutes of seated at rest, they completed three 30-minute bouts of cycling, with 15-minutes rest period in between each bout, at light, moderate, and vigorous exercise intensities. Intensities were set based on a fixed rate of metabolic heat production relative to body size, so that each participant was given the same heat load and therefore amount of heat to lose.

The researchers caution that the findings are based on a male-only cohort of physically active individuals (at least 150-minutes of exercise per week). This might not represent the most heat-vulnerable among those living with type 2 diabetes. Further investigations are needed to understand the changes in the body’s physiological capacity to dissipate heat when sedentary and more vulnerable individuals exercise in the heat.

Dr. Glen Kenny, University of Ottawa, Canada, said, “Type 2 diabetes is associated with higher rates of heat illness and death during heat stress when compared to the general population. By defining the levels of heat stress where diabetes-related impairments in the body’s ability to lose heat cause dangerous increases in core temperature, we can provide better heat-protection advice to safeguard the health and well-being of these heat-vulnerable individuals.  This includes guidance that can assist their health-care providers to manage heat stress in their patients who may be engaged in leisure, athletic activities or job-related activities in the heat.”