Study: Americans making progress on cholesterol levels - Fox 2 News Headlines

By FOX 2 News Staff

Source & Photo Credit: Journal of the American Medical Association

A recent study found average total cholesterol levels in Americans have dropped by ten points from 206 to 196.  Researchers looking at cholesterol trends compared the most recent data from 2007 to 2010 to a study from 1988 to 1994.

"There was progress both for men and for women and for all race ethnicity groups," said Margaret Carroll from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who is pictured above.  "Total cholesterol declined in all adults, in men and in women."

"We found that the bad cholesterol (LDL levels) also declined and that the good cholesterol (HDL levels) increased," she added.

In fact, the bad cholesterol levels went down by over ten points.

"The decrease in the bad cholesterol is due, in part, to the decrease in the intake of trans fatty acids and also to the increase in cholesterol lowering medications," Carroll said.  "The increase in the good cholesterol is probably due, in part, to decreasing smoking rates."

The study is published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

According to the Mayo Clinic, oatmeal in considered one of the top five foods to lower cholesterol.  Click here to see the rest of the list.