Essay - An Analysis of the Relationship Between Eating Habits and Developing...

An Analysis of the Relationship between Eating Habits and Developing High Cholesterol Levels

***** 1: Introduction

Background and significance

*****. Problem statement. Coronary heart disease (CHD) remains the leading single cause of death in ***** United States today, and elevated serum cholesterol is widely recognized as being the risk factor responsible for myocardial infarction and CHD death; fur*****rmore, a growing body of research supports the acceptance ***** hypercholesterolemia being ***** a causal and treatable agent in coronary artery arthersclerosis (Baum, Jennings, Manuck & Rabin, 2001).. According to statistics released by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), approximately half a million Americans die each year from coronary heart disease (Adams & Jennings, 1993). To date, researchers have determined that controllable risk *****s such as the level of physical inactivity, smoking, overweight or obesity, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and diabetes are all major influences on ***** development and severity of heart disease (Meadows, 2003). While ***** heart ***** (*****) is a complex, multifaceted health problem, there has been increased attention focused on *****tary ***** ***** saturated fats as factors ***** also c*****tribute to elevated blood cholesterol levels; in th***** regard, elevated blood *****, specific*****y LDL (low density lipoprote*****, the so-called "bad cholesterol") *****, can lead to arteriosclerosis (a narrowing of the arteries that slows or blocks the flow of *****) and greatly incre*****es the ***** of heart attack (Adams ***** Jennings, 1993; Ulrich, 2002).

High blood pressure and elevated lipids represent a lethal combination; in fact, it has been estimated that fully 80 percent ***** those with hypertension also ***** ***** cholesterol levels (or *****) and that 50 percent of these individuals will require some type ***** medication in order ***** lower their ***** to safe levels (Griffith & Wood, 1997). According to these authors, "For the most part, high ***** pressure and high cholesterol are connected ***** a common denominator: poor lifestyle choices. Both diseases ***** more prevalent in sedentary and obese persons, ***** tobacco users" (***** & *****, p. 240). High cholesterol levels are particularly dangerous ***** people with ***** blood pressure because excess ***** ***** the blood ***** become trapped in the crevices of ***** that have been damaged by chronic *****. As time passes, cholesterol accumulates along with other materials and constricts the open*****g of the affected arteries; if this blockage takes place in the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle, the result is a he*****rt attack while blockages in the arteries that provide ***** brain with ***** can result in a stroke (Griffith & Wood, 1997).

In a number of c*****ses, blood cholesterol levels have been shown to be able to be *****ed through diet and exercise, ***** the risk ***** CHD ***** *****by be reduced (Adams ***** Jennings, 1993). Cholesterol, though, represents just one causal *****or ***** underlies *****, and other ***** factors for CHD include genetic predisposition, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, and smoking; however, ***** one factor, cholesterol, has ***** shown to be an important factor in this medley.