Over a QUARTER of 20-somethings have high cholesterol: Massive study lays bare true scale of UK’s ill health as ‘shocked’ experts blame society’s reliance on takeaways and processed food

By Liam On Nov 6, 2023

More than a quarter of people in their twenties now have high cholesterol, according to a large-scale study.

Experts today admitted they were ‘shocked’ at how unhealthy Britain is thanks to the NHS-backed project.

Analysis involving just over 220,000 Britons found that parts of the population are unknowingly living with high blood pressure or cholesterol.

Both are leading causes of heart attacks and strokes.

Yet both are easily treated with medications and lifestyle changes, such as losing weight and quitting smoking.

Results from the Our Future Health project showing high cholesterol levels in the population, based on a sample of 227,592 volunteers. Source: Our Future Health

Experts warn a cheeky takeaway could be behind a worrying trend in younger groups of Britons developing high cholesterol levels traditionally seen in older demographics

Two-thirds (67 percent) of over-50s had high cholesterol they are the generation most likely to have blocked blood vessels.

This was higher than the results for Britons in their sixties (63 percent), seventies (48 percent) and eighties (39 percent).

Traditionally, the risk of high cholesterol increased with age, peaking in the 1960s and 1970s.

Obesity experts blamed society’s reliance on takeaways and processed foods for this shift.

Tam Fry, from the National Obesity Forum, told The Daily telegram: ‘We are seeing increasingly worrying consequences for a generation that has become dependent on highly processed foods and regular takeaways.

WHAT IS HIGH CHOLESTEROL?

Cholesterol is a fatty substance that is essential for the normal functioning of the body.

But too much can cause it to build up in the arteries, restricting blood flow to the heart, brain and the rest of the body.

This increases the risk of angina, heart attacks, strokes and blood clots.

Cholesterol is made in the liver and is transported by proteins in the blood.

The first – high-density lipoprotein (HDL) – transports cholesterol from cells to the liver, where it is broken down or passed on as waste. This is ‘good cholesterol’.

‘Bad cholesterol’ – low-density lipoprotein (LDL) – transports cholesterol into the cells, with excessive amounts then accumulating in the artery walls.

High cholesterol can be genetic, but is also linked to a diet high in saturated fat, as well as smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure and a family history of stroke or heart disease.

Blood cholesterol is measured in units called millimoles per liter of blood, often abbreviated to mmol/l.

The total level of a healthy adult should be 5 mmol/l or less, while the LDL level should not exceed 3 mmol/l. An ideal HDL level is above 1 mmol/L.

Cholesterol can be lowered by eating a healthy, low-fat diet; do not smoke; and exercise regularly.

If these do not help, cholesterol-lowering medications such as statins may be prescribed.

Source: NHS

‘We’ve already seen these trends impact staggering obesity levels, now we can see it impacting cholesterol levels too.

‘Separate research has already linked high cholesterol among people in their 50s and 60s to other conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, so we really need to take action to recognize the deadly risks facing today’s over-50s.’

Figures from the Our Future Health project also showed that 27 percent of adults aged 18 to 29 had high cholesterol.

This rose to 43 percent for people in their thirties and 57 percent for Britons in their forties.

The numbers were also higher in women (62 percent versus 46 percent in men).

High cholesterol means that people have too much of the fatty substance in their blood and this is mainly caused by a poor diet in combination with a lack of exercise.

High cholesterol contributes to over 7 percent of all deaths in England alone and affects up to 60 percent of all adults.

Volunteers were given blood pressure and cholesterol checks, with participants also giving permission for their DNA and blood samples to be used in future studies.

Sir John Bell, chairman of Our Future Health and medical expert from the University of Oxford, told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that he was ‘shocked’ by the prevalence of hidden serious health problems in the population.

“When we looked at the first 100,000 people we put through this system, we found that actually more than half had cholesterol levels that should have been treated but weren’t,” he said.

‘There were people who were actually very young.

“We know that heart disease starts very young in some people, around age 20, and I think what we’re doing is picking up some of that.”

People with high cholesterol are first asked by doctors to make lifestyle changes, such as improving their diet and exercise, to lower their levels.

However, if these measures fail, patients may be prescribed statins to help control cholesterol.

Statins are now one of the most commonly used drugs in Britain, with between 7 and 8 million people taking them.

Other drugs – such as ACE inhibitors (Angiotensin-converting enzyme) – are also offered to patients with high blood pressure.

Unlike cholesterol, the project found that blood pressure readings gradually increased with age.

Around two-thirds of over-16s in England (64 percent) are overweight, including tens of thousands who are morbidly obese. This is an increase of 11 percent from 1993, when 53 percent were considered overweight. Experts blame a sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy diet. Source: Health Survey for England 2021

Only 12 percent of 18-29 year olds had hypertension, compared to 46 percent of Britons in their 80s.

The findings come after the World Health Organization warned last year that the rise of the ‘Deliveroo lifestyle’ will make Britain the fattest country in Europe within a decade.

Health officials have previously warned that food delivery apps are fueling an obesity crisis by encouraging overeating and physical inactivity.

Britons’ reliance on such apps increased during the pandemic, with people becoming addicted to having food delivered to their door after being ordered to stay at home.

An estimated 65 percent of British adults are currently overweight, compared to around 50 percent in the 1990s, and this figure is expected to rise further in the future.

Childhood obesity has also seen a similar trend.

Nationally, one in ten young people are now obese by the time they start care, rising to one in five by the time they reach sixth grade.

The Our Future Health research project hopes to recruit a total of 5 million adults to take part in the studies and help people at higher risk of diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, dementia and stroke.

People who want to participate can register online, after which they will be asked to make an appointment to take measurements of their health.