|
|
 |
 Conditions Education Center |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
A variety of things can affect cholesterol levels.
 |
Professional drivers may have a lifestyle that contributes to high cholesterol, including poor diet, physical inactivity, and being overweight. |
According to the US Department of Health's National Cholesterol Education Program, many of the risk factors of acquired high cholesterol are controllable. These risk factors include:
 |
Diabetes. Saturated fat and cholesterol in the food you eat make your cholesterol level go up. Saturated fat is the main culprit, but cholesterol in foods also matters. Reducing the amount of saturated fat and cholesterol in your diet helps lower your cholesterol level.
|
|
Weight. Being overweight is a risk factor for heart disease. It also tends to increase your cholesterol. Losing weight can help lower your LDL and total cholesterol levels, as well as raise your HDL and lower your triglyceride levels.
|
|
Physical Activity. Not being physically active is a risk factor for heart disease. Regular physical activity can help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and raise HDL (good) cholesterol levels. It also helps you lose weight. You should try to be physically active for 30 minutes on most, if not all, days.
|
Things you cannot do anything about can also affect cholesterol levels. These include:
|
Age and Gender. As women and men get older, their cholesterol levels rise. Before the age of menopause, women have lower cholesterol levels than men of the same age. After the age of menopause, women's LDL levels tend to rise.
|
|
Heredity. Your genes partly determine how much cholesterol your body makes. High cholesterol can run in families.
|
Some people have high cholesterol that is a combination of genetic problems and lifestyle factors.
|
|
|
|
|
EMAIL THIS PAGE
PRINT THIS PAGE
|
|
