The Fat Runner has High Cholesterol

Yes, the Fat Runner has high cholesterol.

Under pressure from his wife, he had a full blood screen just after Christmas. Apparently everything was fine (the doctor has promised to put the results into the post) other than Cholesterol, with a reading of 5.7.

Now the healthy level is, I'm told, 5.0. So there is a gap which TFR will need to make up. But TFR has done a little web research on cholesterol levels.

Firstly, the average UK cholesterol level is 5.5-5.7 (depending who you believe) meaning that the average man or woman in the street has unhealthy cholesterol levels. Equally, two thirds of UK adults have cholesterol levels over 5.0.

So the Fat Runner is a little less concerned than he was when he first found out. Although that doesn't mean he won't be doing anything about it.

So, he will be running more (how many times have we heard that) which increases the amount of 'good' cholesterol (HDL) and decreases the amount of 'bad' cholesterol (LDL).

Also, he will be paying more attention to his diet than he has over the last few months. Far more fruit, vegetables and nuts, as well as oat bran, which are apparently full of plant sterols and are key to reducing cholesterol.

We'll see!