ATLANTA — U.S. health officials say only 13 percent of U.S. adults have high total cholesterol. That may seem incredible in a nation where two-thirds of adults are overweight.
Experts believe it’s largely because so many Americans take cholesterol-lowering drugs, but dropping smoking rates and other factors also contributed.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the report today. The numbers come from interviews and blood tests of nearly than 6,000 U.S. adults in 2009 and 2010.
Cholesterol is a fat-like substance in the blood. Too much total cholesterol is a risk for heart disease. The government set a goal that no more than 17 percent of adults have high total cholesterol. The goal was achieved about five years ago for women and more than 10 years ago for men.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.