Cholesterols levels are falling in the U.S, says Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey.

A little over 13 percent of U.S adults had high cholesterol according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of 2009-2010.

According to the survey, 12 percent of women and 31 percent of men had low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.

From 1999 to 2010, in a span of 10 years, the percentage of adults above 20 years who had high levels of cholesterol declined by 27 percent.

Factors like better eating habits, exercise and use of certain medications are the probable causes of this trend, reports Reuters.

According to CDC, low density lipoproteins cholesterol make up the majority of the body’s cholesterol. This is the “bad” cholesterol because excess of LDL can build-up in the arteries causing heart diseases.

High density cholesterol or HDL is “good” because it can absorb the LDL and take it back to liver. Having HDL in the body significantly lowers the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Regular checkup for cholesterol levels helps people make informed choices about diet and exercise. The report issued by CDC said, during 2009-2010, approximately 68% of adults, including 66% of men and 70% of women, had their cholesterol checked within the past five years.

CDC had issued a statement in the month of February saying that the blood levels of TFAs or trans fatty acids had decreased by 58 percent in white adults in the U.S. This was the first time that the federal agency had measured TFAs.

“The 58 percent decline shows substantial progress that should help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease in adults. Findings from the CDC study demonstrate the effectiveness of these efforts in reducing blood TFAs and highlight that further reductions in the levels of trans fats must remain an important public health goal,” said Christopher Portier, director of CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health.

Trans fats are not required by the human body and studies show that trans fats can lead to heart diseases as they are known to increase LDL or bad cholesterol.

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