Free diabetes testing on offer at East London Mosque

EAST Enders are being offered free diabetes tests next week to target the thousands of sufferers who are unaware they have the disease. Barts and The London Trust is offering on-the-spot blood glucose tests at the East London Mosque in Whitechapel Road

EAST Enders are being offered free diabetes tests next week to target the thousands of sufferers who are unaware they have the disease.

Barts and The London Trust is offering on-the-spot blood glucose tests at the East London Mosque in Whitechapel Road on Wednesday.

There are more than 10,000 diabetes sufferers in Tower Hamlets - seven per cent of the population - compared to the national average of 5 per cent.

It is particularly high among the East End's Bengali community, including those as young as 30-years-old because of their high intake of salt and the high proportion of rice and bread in their diet.

And health chiefs have predicted another 10,000 residents are completely unaware they have the disease.

The North East London Diabetes Network has organised the testing from midday to 2pm to mark World Diabetes Day.