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Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners
Could my child have high cholesterol?
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My child’s father has high cholesterol and I would like to know if he should be tested. He is not overweight. -
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Nicole Senior
Dietitian, Nutritionist
I'm an Accredited Practising Dietitian and Nutritionist, consultant, author, speaker and food and health enthusiast. I love talking and writing about food and health.(please note, … View Profile
Yes your child could have high cholesterol but the chances are lower if they are a healthy weight and eating a heart-friendly diet. A study of school children in Western Sydney found 60% had high cholesterol, which grew to 70% in the overweight group and the researchers put this down to diet and lifestyle. Usually doctors do not test children's cholesterol unless there is a reason, such as if they are obese, but there are calls to do this routinely from some child health experts- especially in the USA. I'd say the best thing is to focus on healthy eating and lifestyle, primarily ensuring your child eats mostly unsaturated fats, lean meat, low fat dairy foods and lots of protective plant foods such as wholegrains, vegetables, legumes, fruits, nuts and seeds. To get the whoel family eating this way there's great information and recipes in my book Eat to Beat Cholesterol, available at http://www.greatideas.net.au/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=Eat+to+beat+cholesterol&osCsid=23d892f4a354771e508426d8471c2002
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