Takeaway culture puts those in 50s at greatest risk of high cholesterol

A DIET of takeaways and ready meals means those in their 50s are now the generation most likely to have high cholesterol, experts have said.

A national programme to improve detection and prevention of diseases shows that those in midlife are now the most likely to have the condition, which increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

The chance of high cholesterol has long been said to rise naturally with age, normally peaking for those in their 60s and 70s.

But experts said the findings, from a mass study involving the NHS, suggest that the unhealthy lifestyles of a generation that relies far more on convenience food and deliveries than its predecessors are reaping deadly consequences.

The national research programme, Our Future Health, is being rolled out at high street chemists and aims to improve detection and prevention of diseases. The scheme, which will announce today that it has recruited one million volunteers, offers free blood pressure and cholesterol checks, with participants giving permission for their DNA and blood samples to be used in research.

Early results show a snapshot of the UK’S state of health, with figures from about 220,000 volunteers signed up so far showing that 67 per cent of those in their 50s were found to have high cholesterol, compared with 63 per cent of those in their 60s, 48 per cent of those in their 70s and 39 per cent of those in their 80s. Tam Fry, from the National

Obesity Forum, said unhealthy lifestyle choices were fuelling high cholesterol and obesity at an ever younger age.

Mr Fry said: “We are seeing increasingly worrying consequences for a generation which has grown reliant on highly processed foods and regular takeaways. We’ve already seen these trends having an impact on staggering obesity levels, now we can see it on cholesterol.

“Separate research has already linked high cholesterol in your 50s and 60s to other conditions such as Alzheimer’s, so we really need to act to overhaul the deadly risks facing today’s fifty-somethings.”

Last year the World Health Organisation said that a “Deliveroo culture” fuelled by the pandemic could make Britain the fattest nation in Europe within a decade. Separate figures for

England show that for men, the age between 45 to 54 is the peak for weight problems with 82 per cent classed as overweight or obese.

For women, the peak starts in their 60s, with 71 per cent overweight or obese in the group between 65 and 74.

Overall, half of participants in the first wave of testing were found to have high cholesterol, while one quarter had high blood pressure.

Women were more likely than men to have high cholesterol, with 62 per cent compared to 46 per cent of men. Researchers hope to recruit five million people over the age of 18 to take part in the study, using mass data to better predict who is at higher risk of diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, dementia and stroke.

As many as 3,000 new people are joining the Our Future Health scheme daily, according to researchers behind the project, a collaboration between the NHS, life science companies and major health charities, which aims to make short and long-term insights.

Researchers said collecting and linking genetic and other health data could “revolutionise” detection, treatment of prevention of disease, and result in millions of longer healthier lives.

Anyone over 18 can volunteer by signing up online, where they complete an online health questionnaire and book a clinic appointment.

Volunteers give a blood sample and have some physical measurements taken at the appointment, which are in Boots stores and in mobile clinics that travel around the country.

They are also offered information about their own health, including their blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

In the future they will be given the option to receive feedback about their risk of some diseases, and have the chance to take part in further research studies.

High cholesterol is thought to lead to 7 per cent of all deaths in England.

Statins and lifestyle improvements are recommended to those found to have high levels, with more than eight

‘We really need to act to overhaul the deadly risks facing today’s fifty-somethings’

soaring out-of-work benefit claims in recent years.

Ministers are working on tightening criteria of work capability assessments and for a different approach to issuing sick notes, with people being signed off work ill also markedly up since Covid.

This autumn, the number of people claiming out-of-work benefits hit 5.4 million. It was pushed up during the pandemic and lockdowns but is yet to markedly drop since restrictions have eased. The amount people on Universal Credit receive each month varies depending on personal circumstances. A single person under 25 gets £292, but people with children can get more than double that.

In recent years, about 11,000 cases of benefit fraud have been discovered annually by DWP, but there is concern among some in the department many more people are not getting caught.

DWP estimates suggest £900million a year is being wrongly claimed by people who should not get Universal Credit because they have savings of more than £16,000.

The proposals could trigger criticism that the personal rights of benefits claimants are being infringed, with banks looking into specifics of accounts without the individual being notified.