Effect of Response to a Low-Fat Diet among Adolescent Males on Their Adult Blood Cholesterol Levels

Background.While primary prevention of adult cardiovascular diseases should begin early, there are problems in identifying children at increased risk of future disease. Methods.We did a follow-up study in 1991–1992 of 100 male former students at a boarding high school who had blood cholesterol measured in 1970–1971 both prior to and following a school-wide, reduced-fat dietary intervention. We compared adult cholesterol levels of the 50 subjects whose cholesterol decreased ≥16.5% (the median decrease) following the 1970–1971 intervention (Diet-Sensitive) with the 50 whose response was 20 mg/dl lower than Non-Diet-Sensitive adults on a similar diet (180.1 vs 202.1 mg/dl, respectively). Conclusions.Degree of response to a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet during adolescence may identify male subjects who will have differing patterns of cholesterol change over time.