A new study suggests that the level of cholesterol in Americans have dropped since the last survey which was conducted in the 1980s. However, other components of heart problems have not improved.
A recent study conducted by researchers have found that the cholesterol level in Americans have decreased drastically. Cholesterol is usually a component that causes heart problems and this can be seen as good news. The findings show that the average total cholesterol dropped from 206 milligrams per deciliter in 1988-1994 to 196 in 2007-2010.
"It's important and significant, the reduction that we see here, but it's not unbelievable," said Dr. Goodarz Danaei, from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, who wasn't involved in the study. "I don't think we needed a huge change in diet... to produce this change."
"(The decrease) was probably due to the reductions in smoking (and) the reductions in trans fat in our diet, particularly in processed food, that have occurred over the same time period," said Donna Arnett, president of the American Heart Association, who wasn't involved in the new study told Reuters. "Everyone should know their number and seek an appropriate diet or treatment if needed."
"We are hopeful that some of the increased awareness about diet may be paying off, but we still have quite a long way to go," Dr. Ralph Sacco, president of the American Heart Association and chairman of neurology at the University Of Miami Miller School Of Medicine, said to HealthDay.
However, other experts don't really feel this is all good news. While the cholesterol levels have seen a decrease, other elements that could cause health problems haven't seen any improvement.
"Cholesterol levels are just one measure of heart health," Dr. Gregg Fonarow, a professor of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, said to HealthDay. He was not involved in the study. "While cholesterol levels have significantly improved in the U.S. during this 1998-to-2010 time frame, other components of heart health -- such as maintaining a healthy body weight and participating in regular physical exercise -- have not."
