Daily HealthBeat Tip

Learning cholesterol control

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I�m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Many of us are getting better at getting our cholesterol levels down -- many, but not all.

A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association says total cholesterol levels among older people fell significantly in men ages 60 and older, and women ages 50 and older. But it says levels in younger adults over the past ten years were mostly unchanged.

Researcher Clifford Johnson of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says proper diet and exercise are crucial. He notes many Americans have some work to do there:

"Obesity�s going up, physical activity is sort of stabilized, not changing much in the general population." (six seconds)

The scientists say drugs called statins, which control cholesterol, are a big reason for the improvements they saw. For some people, the drugs could be worth talking to a doctor about.

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: November 8, 2005

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