Just a 10% reduction in bad cholesterol could save 3,000 Australian lives each year

Mar 13 2008

New research has revealed that a ten percent lowering of 'bad' LDL cholesterol could save nearly 3,000 Australian lives each year.

A nutrition and lifestyle team at The George Institute has indicated that even small reductions in cholesterol can substantially reduce heart attacks and strokes and this applies across a broad range of individuals, irrespective of age, sex or initial cholesterol level.

The leading cause of death among Australians is cardiovascular disease which accounts for more than 50,000 or one third of all deaths each year.

One of the main contributing factors to cardiovascular disease is raised blood cholesterol and one in every two Australian adults is thought to have a cholesterol reading above the recommended level.

Many people with high cholesterol remain unaware of the problem and the new research shows just how great an impact would be made if awareness was raised.

The George Institute for International Health aims to improve global health by means of high quality research which is applied to health policies and practice.

The Institute is an independent, non-profit institution with over 180 staff working on projects in over 40 countries in collaboration with more than 400 hospitals and universities worldwide and has operations in Australia, China and India.

The Institute is involved in numerous large-scale international and regional projects which are supported by a diverse range of both public and private funders.

According to researcher Dr. Rachel Huxley, the key change to reduce cholesterol levels is to lower the intake of saturated fats.

Dr. Huxley says almost everyone would benefit from lowering their blood cholesterol which means cutting down on full fat dairy products, convenience meals, takeaway foods, confectionary, cakes and biscuits.

The research has also revealed that as cholesterol levels are significantly influenced by diet, consuming the right types of food would deliver significant health benefits to the Australian population.