High Cholesterol Plaguing American Teenagers

Boston (DbTechNo) - A new study finds that many US teenagers are living with higher than normal cholesterol levels.

The study, conducted by researchers with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention paints a grim picture when it comes to the future of America when it comes to health, and the associating dollar burden that will undoubtedly go along with it.

The researchers examined data on more than 3000 teens who were part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

The study found that 1 out of every 5 teens between 12 and 19 years of age are living with high cholesterol, a fact that puts them at increased risk of heart disease.

The heavier the teens were, the higher their cholesterol levels were, meaning that an obese teen had more bad cholesterol in their blood than a teen of a healthy body weight.

Boys were found to be at greater risk than girls of having high cholesterol, and black teens were also found to be more susceptible to the condition.

“It’s a large proportion of the youth that have at least one abnormal lipid level. That is concerning given the long term implications for heart disease,” stated Ashleigh May of the CDC.

“We really want to make sure that clinicians are aware of lipid screening guidelines and lifestyle interventions that are recommended, for youth, especially overweight and obese youth,” May added.