DOES HIGH CHOLESTEROL CAUSE OBESITY?

By Angela Ogunjim

High cholesterol is one of many consequences of obesity. Obesity is defined as having too much body fat, usually caused by excessive calorie consumption. Eating high-fat foods increases the level of cholesterol circulating in your bloodstream. The causal direction, however, is that obesity induces high cholesterol.

Obesity in the United States

Obesity rates are at epidemic proportions in the U.S. More than one-third of adults are classified as obese, as defined by a body mass index of 30 or greater. This according to a group of researchers from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Worse, there are growing numbers of Americans who are morbidly obese and fall in categories of even more body fat. Grades 2 and 3 obesity are classified as people whose BMI is greater than 35 and 40, respectively.

Published in the January 20, 2010, "Journal of the American Medical Association," the CDC researchers reported that more than 14 percent of Americans classify as grade 2 obesity, and nearly 6 percent fall under grade 3. Within each category, women in general and older women have greater representation falling under the higher grades than the overall averages indicate. For example, close to 20 percent of women ages 40 to 59 fall into grade 2 obesity. When taking overweight and obesity into account, more than two-thirds of the American adult population is experiencing troublesome weight problems. Plus, one in three children is overweight or obese, reports the White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity.

The Thyroid Connection

High cholesterol may also be related to an underlying disorder that could cause weight problems. Elevated levels of blood cholesterol may be a sign of a low -functioning thyroid, according to Harvard Medical School. The thyroid plays a key role in regulating many metabolic processes, and when it's not functioning properly, many sufferers experience increases in cholesterol. Hypothyroidism can also cause your body to convert fewer calories from your foods into energy, so you may experience a slight weight gain.

Cholesterol Functions

Cholesterol is essential to life. It comprises the membranes of every cell in your body. Your liver produces about 800 to 1,500 mg of cholesterol each day, using saturated fats and simple sugars. Cholesterol is used in the development of hormones, protects your skin, maintains the neurotransmitters involved in brain function --- and scavenges the body to remove excess cholesterol.

Saturated Fats and Their Effect on Blood Cholesterol

You may think that eating a high-cholesterol diet increases your cholesterol, but this isn't the case. In fact, you only absorb a fraction of the cholesterol you eat, and cholesterol in the diet doesn't directly translate to cholesterol in the blood. The saturated fat in your diet plays a much bigger role in cholesterol level, as it provides the building blocks your body needs to manufacture cholesterol. Saturated fat, especially from animal sources, boosts LDL, or bad cholesterol, and because these food sources also are high in calories, you increase your chances of having a weight problem.

Dangers of High Cholesterol

According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, having high bad cholesterol increases your risk for heart disease. The National Cholesterol Education Program says when there is too much cholesterol in your blood, it can build up in your blood vessels and cause them to harden. If blood flow is blocked and cannot reach your heart, you will have a heart attack. Some people have risk factors for high cholesterol they can't change, including their age, gender and genetic inheritance. However, obesity-related high cholesterol can be controlled through improvements to your diet, physical activity and weight loss.

References

• "Journal of the American Medical Association"; Prevalence and Trends in Obesity Among U.S. Adults, 1999-2008; Katherine M. Flegal et al.; January 20, 2010
• White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity; Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity Within a Generation; May 2010
• Harvard Medical School: The Lowdown on Thyroid Slowdown
• Share Guide: The Truth About Cholesterol
• Hepatitis A-Z: The Cholesterol Controversy
• Harvard School of Public Health: Fats and Cholesterol: Out With the Bad, In With the Good