Will Losing Weight Help To Lower Cholesterol? Risk Factors And Solutions

High cholesterol mainly comes due to unhealthy lifestyles. If you have high cholesterol, your doctor would suggest you follow a healthy lifestyle that can improve cholesterol.

People with high cholesterol have more chance of getting obese. Therefore, weight loss is essential to lowering your high cholesterol. It’s better to maintain a moderate level of weight for a healthy cholesterol level.

This article discusses the connection between cholesterol and weight loss and how they influence each other. Before that, you should know about the condition of high cholesterol.

What Is High Cholesterol?

As you all know, cholesterol is a fat necessary for various purposes in the body. It helps to produce certain hormones, vitamin D, and healthy cells.

When your body produces an excessive amount of lipoproteins, it deposits different parts of your body. This condition is called high cholesterol. The medical term for high cholesterol is hypercholesterolemia or hyperlipidemia.

The fatty deposits develop cholesterol plaque in the arteries. The deposits grow over years and prevent the smooth blood flow through the arteries.

It gradually leads to the breakage of these deposits and forms a clot that finally results in a stroke or heart attack. In some people, high cholesterol may come due to a genetic disorder.

People who have a family history of heart disease may have familial hypercholesterolemia. People with FH have a high level of cholesterol in their bodies.  Because the body recycles bad cholesterol.

As a result, the amount of bad cholesterol in the blood is very high. As you know, all cholesterol types are not harmful to your health. Based on its type, Cholesterol is categorized into three types. 

• HDL (high-density lipoprotein)
• LDL (Low-density lipoprotein)
• Triglyceride

HDL is the good cholesterol that carries cholesterol from other parts of your body back to your liver.

On the other hand, low-density lipoprotein creates fat deposits in your arteries. An excessive number of LDL can lead to atherosclerosis and other coronary artery diseases.

Triglyceride is similar to LDL. High amounts of LDL also contribute to fat deposits and heart diseases. 

What Are The Risk Factors Of High Cholesterol?

High cholesterol occurs due to various reasons. However, lifestyle changes contribute almost 80% to this condition. Let’s look at some of the risk factors for developing high cholesterol. They are,

• Poor diet

Saturated fat and trans fat are the two main sources of cholesterol that come from food consumption.

Eating too much-saturated fat will increase the number of low-density lipoproteins levels. Red meat and dairy products contain a high amount of LDL and triglycerides.

• Lack of physical activities

Lack of exercise is one of the major problems that lead to high cholesterol. Lack of physical activity increases deposits of fats in different body parts. It causes several health diseases related to heart health. 

• Smoking

Smoking can lower the count of HDL cholesterol. It leads to high cholesterol levels in your blood. it builds up plaque in your arteries and affects the blood flow. The condition ultimately results in several coronary artery diseases.

• Excessive consumption of alcohol

Drinking at a moderate level doesn’t affect your cholesterol level. It is good for improving the number of HDL cholesterol.

But when it crosses the limit, it affects your cholesterol and the functioning of the liver. 

• Age

Age is a risk factor that causes high-level cholesterol. Cholesterol become a common disease nowadays. Even young children are diagnosed with high cholesterol. However, it is commonly found in people above 40 years.

When you are getting older, the functioning of the liver also becomes slow. The liver couldn’t properly remove bad cholesterol from your body.

How Obesity Influences High Cholesterol?

Obesity and cholesterol are interrelated. It is one of the risk factors that raise your cholesterol levels. Food consumption plays a vital role in obesity.

If you consume high saturated fat and trans fat, it results in your cholesterol level. Saturated fat increases the fat deposits in the body.

This excessive fat appears in the form of obesity. So, a person with obesity is more prone to high cholesterol. However, it’s better to update their cholesterol level using a blood test. 

In addition, obesity not only affects your cholesterol, but also increases the risk factors for diabetes, arthritis, and heart disease. High cholesterol mainly affects heart health. Like cholesterol, obesity also raises coronary artery diseases.

Triglycerides form free fatty acids and a kind of glucose. The high amount of triglycerides leads to a higher level of other lipoproteins and leads to heart diseases.

Does Weight Loss Help To Improve Cholesterol?

Yes. Weight loss can make a big difference in your cholesterol level. You don’t need to lower a significant number in your weight.

Losing 10 pounds can be good for reducing LDL  cholesterol. The changes in the process related to fat metabolism cause obesity or overweight.

But what you need to do that follow a proper diet and lifestyle that is beneficial for improving cholesterol levels.

How Does Weight Loss Reduce High Cholesterol?

Weight loss is one of the effective ways help to reduce high cholesterol. As aforementioned, You may notice people with high cholesterol have obesity issues.

Obesity can be considered one of the symptoms of high cholesterol. So, it is important to manage your weight at a moderate level. Weight loss helps to burn excessive fat in the body and makes less inflammation.

Weight loss is not only good for improving your cholesterol levels, but also for regulating hormones. 

What Are The Tips For Weight Loss?

Losing weight is not a big deal. You can reduce a significant weight using different methods. The following tips will be beneficial for your weight loss.

• Take a proper diet

Diet is one of the simple solutions used for reducing weight loss. Following a proper diet can make visible changes in your body. Keep remembering that the consumption of food and quantity of food is equally important in your diet.

• Eat plenty of vegetables and fruits

Vegetables and fruits are rich in fiber and low in calories and fat. Including plenty of fruits and vegetables can reduce a significant number of your weight. 

• Get more active in physical activities

Investing more time in physical activities. Do your favorite sport or take a walk with your favorite person. Physical activities provide a lot of health benefits. It can burn extra calories in the body and helps in weight loss.

• Drink a lot of water 

Water can contribute to your weight loss. Drinking water helps to burn more calories. Some studies proved that drinking water before breakfast reduced the number of calories. It helps to decrease weight gain and obesity, especially in children.

Conclusion

High cholesterol can manage in a number of ways. Weight loss is just one among many. High cholesterol can be easily controlled by following a healthy lifestyle.

The tips mentioned above are constructive for reducing your weight. However, seeking advice from a health professional is highly recommended for better results.