Step 3: What causes high cholesterol?

Return to Index Step 1: The Dangers of High Cholesterol Step 2: Types of Cholesterol Step 3: What Causes High Cholesterol?Step 4: Symptoms of High Cholesterol Step 5: Cholesterol Screening and Testing Step 6: Maintain Healthy Habits Step 7: Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs Step 8: You and Your Doctor are a Team Keypoints Glossary

*Close Menu*

Unhealthy cholesterol levels are linked to having a poor diet, lack of exercise, being overweight, age, heredity, and other factors.

Poor diet

The unhealthy foods most likely to raise your LDL cholesterol are those that contain saturated fat and trans-fatty acids.

Saturated fats are found in animal products -- such as high-fat cuts of beef, lamb, pork, butter, cream, ice cream, whole milk, cheeses, egg yolks, and foods made with these products.
Trans-fatty acids are found in fried foods, commercially baked goods (donuts, cookies, crackers), processed foods, and margarines. Read more about margarine and butter.

Lack of exercise

Lack of physical activity can lead to high LDL cholesterol. On the other hand, regular exercise can increase good cholesterol, lower bad cholesterol, decrease your risk for heart disease, and improve your overall health.

Being overweight

Overweight people often don't have enough HDL (good) cholesterol, and their triglycerides are often too high. Their LDL (bad) cholesterol may be too high as well. Furthermore, obesity increases the risk for high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes, which put you at risk for developing heart disease.

Older age

Cholesterol levels tend to rise in both men and women as they get older. This is very important because heart disease is the number one cause of death for both men AND women:

Men -- on average, men develop cardiovascular disease 10 - 15 years earlier than women. Men have an increased risk of dying from heart disease at a younger age than women.
Women -- following menopause, cholesterol levels rise significantly. More specifically, LDL (bad) cholesterol increases and HDL (good) cholesterol decreases at this phase in a woman's life, putting her at increased the risk for heart disease.

Heredity

Genetics play an important role in determining your blood cholesterol level. Children and teens should have their cholesterol checked if family members have had either early heart disease or total cholesterol levels greater than 240 mg/dL. Early heart disease is defined as a father, brother, uncle, or grandfather who developed heart disease before age 55, or a mother, sister, aunt, or grandmother before age 65.

Other causes of high cholesterol

Type 2 diabetes
Stress
Hypothyroidism
Kidney disease
Liver disease
Some medications (progestins, steroids)
Polycystic ovarian syndrome

Review Date: 12/31/2012
Reviewed By: Glenn Gandelman, MD, MPH, FACC Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at New York Medical College; Private Practice specializing in Cardiovascular Disease in Greenwich, CT. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. No warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, is made as to the accuracy, reliability, timeliness, or correctness of any translations made by a third-party service of the information provided herein into any other language. © 1997- A.D.A.M., a business unit of Ebix, Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.