We popularly associate high cholesterol levels with obese or older adults. Currently, we consider that thinness and youth are symptoms of physical fullness and good health. Because of this, we forget that maintaining a balanced diet and practicing physical exercise regularly are essential methods to keep our bodies properly.
Are you young and thin, and have you detected high cholesterol? Do you meet that profile that has not crossed your mind to go for a blood test, believing that it cannot affect you? In the following FastlyHealarticle, we will give you all the keys to understanding what cholesterol is, what causes it, and its appropriate levels.
Can I have cholesterol when I am young and thin? Read on, and you will find out.
Table of Contents
What is cholesterol
Cholesterol is a type of fat that is found in our body, and that is essential for it to function. However, its presence in the Blood must be limited, as an excess of cholesterol contributes to narrowing the arteries, causing thrombi and other heart diseases.
Although you do not usually develop symptoms themselves, high cholesterol, or hypercholesterolemia, can be easily detected by a blood test. These analyses reveal different cholesterol values, each establishing the levels of each type of cholesterol.
On the one hand, there is the commonly called good cholesterol, HDL, or high-density lipoprotein; on the other, there is bad cholesterol, or low-density lipoprotein, LDL. Through the blood test, it is possible to know both the levels of good and bad cholesterol, as well as the combined levels of cholesterol.
Cholesterol values
Cholesterol values are distinguished in three different ways; On the one hand, we have the low-density lipoprotein, LDL, whose values should be between 70 and 130 mg / dL, although 100 mg / dL would be the optimal level.
Regarding high-density lipoprotein or HDL, its value is usually above 60 mg / dL. However, unlike LDL, the higher its number, the better, while having it below 40 mg / dL is harmful to health.
Finally, the analysis will give us the total cholesterol data, whose excellent value should be 200 mg / dL; being necessary to take measures to lower it when it is between that number and 239 mg / dL, and vital from 240 mg / dL. dL, when it already becomes potentially dangerous to health.
In the FastlyHealarticle on average cholesterol values, you can find all the information you need on this aspect.
Causes of high cholesterol
Generally, high cholesterol has a direct relationship with poor lifestyle habits, being overweight, excessive consumption of foods rich in fat, and sedentary life; however, there are certain conditions such as diabetes, pregnancy, kidney disease, or hypothyroidism that can manifest themselves through a rise in cholesterol.
In turn, some medications can also induce this rise, as in the case of contraceptives, diuretics, and drugs for depression.
In the following FastlyHealarticle, you will find everything about cholesterol, its causes, and its treatment.
Can I have cholesterol when I am young and thin?
Although overweight and obese people indeed have a much higher risk of suffering from high cholesterol, this is not an essential condition to suffer from this abnormality in fat values in the Blood. In other words, just because you are not obese does not mean that you cannot have hypercholesterolemia.
The truth is that genetic factors cause most cases of people who have high cholesterol; being overweight or obese only magnifies those effects. Something similar to age, although it has been shown that cholesterol levels increase with age, this does not mean that a young person cannot suffer from hypercholesterolemia.
Answering the question in a binary way, we must say that you can have high cholesterol when you are young and thin since both age and being overweight are the leading causes of hypercholesterolemia but are not essential for this condition to develop. Mainly linked to genetic factors.
This article is merely informative, at FastlyHeal .com we do not have the power to prescribe medical treatments or make any type of diagnosis. We invite you to see a doctor in the case of presenting any type of condition or discomfort.
If you want to read more articles similar to Can I have cholesterol when I am young and thin? We recommend that you enter our category of Blood, heart and circulation .
I am a Surgeon with a diploma in comprehensive ultrasound and surgical care residency, an area I am specializing in. During the exercise of my profession, I have realized the need for patients to know the diseases they suffer, and I can tell you that a large part of their complications is due to a lack of information. Being a health web writer allows me to transmit my experience, without borders, to all those readers eager for knowledge, educate them in the prevention of diseases and promote a healthy lifestyle.