High Cholesterol: Causes

A variety of things can affect the cholesterol levels in your blood. Some of these things you can control and others you cannot. Causes of high cholesterol levels can include the following:

• Diet. Certain foods have types of fat that raise your cholesterol level.

  • Saturated fat raises your low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol level more than anything else in your diet.

  • Trans fatty acids (trans fats) are made when vegetable oil is hydrogenated to harden it. Trans fatty acids also raise cholesterol levels.

  • Cholesterol is found in foods that come from animal sources, for example, egg yolks, meat, and cheese.

• Weight. Being overweight tends to increase your LDL level, lower your high-density lipoprotein (HDL) level, and increase your total cholesterol level.

• Lack of physical activity. Lack of regular exercise can lead to weight gain, which could raise your LDL cholesterol level. Regular exercise can help you lose weight and lower your LDL level. It can also help you raise your HDL level.

• Heredity. High blood cholesterol can run in families. An inherited genetic condition (familial hypercholesterolemia) results in very high LDL cholesterol levels. It begins at birth, and may result in a heart attack at an early age.

• Age and sex. Starting at puberty, men have lower levels of HDL than women. As women and men get older, their LDL cholesterol levels rise. Younger women have lower LDL cholesterol levels than men, but after age 55, women have higher levels than men.

This information has been adapted from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.