5/17/01

Janet L. McCoy

NEW CHOLESTEROL GUIDELINES SHOULD MEAN LIFESTYLE CHANGES

AUBURN -- New guidelines that attack high cholesterol could mean as many as 20 percent of adult Americans might have to use some type of prescription drugs, but an Auburn University nutrition expert says diet and exercise should be the first-line defense.

Bob Keith, a professor of nutrition and food science, said while some high cholesterol is due to heredity, most who suffer from it have poor diets and exercise habits.

The National Institutes of Health has issued aggressive new guidelines that could nearly triple the number of people taking cholesterol-lowering drugs. Deaths from heart disease, which claimed about 500,000 lives annually, could be reduced dramatically if the guidelines are followed. High blood cholesterol is one of the major risk factors of coronary heart disease.

The new guidelines, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, recommend use of different tests to screen for high cholesterol and revise the optimal standards for good and bad cholesterol. Diabetes would be added to the conditions indicating an increased risk for heart disease.

Adopting a better lifestyle, Keith says, can have other beneficial effects in addition to lowering cholesterol.

"It can also significantly reduce a person's blood pressure and risk of diabetes," he said. "The bottom line is people have to get motivated and that's an individual thing to eat better and lose weight."

Taking cholesterol-lowering drugs will help those who are not able to lower their cholesterol by diet and exercise alone, said Keith, a registered dietitian.

Under the new guidelines, the number of Americans using prescribed cholesterol drugs could jump from about 13 million to 36 million, the NIH estimated.

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CONTACT: Keith, 334/844-3273.