A new national initiative, the National Cholesterol Education Program of Australia (NCEPA), was unveiled in March to educate the Australian population about cholesterol and its effective management through diet and lifestyle, with the aim of reducing thousands of deaths from heart attack and stroke each year.

The NCEPA unites leading health care organisations, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, CSIRO Human Nutrition, Australian Atherosclerosis Society and The Dietitians Association of Australia, together with food and personal care company Unilever Australasia in the fight against cholesterol.

Cardiovascular disease is currently the leading cause of death among Australians, causing more than 50,000 or one third of all deaths, each year. Raised blood cholesterol is one of the major contributing factors to cardiovascular disease. One in two Australian adults currently has a cholesterol reading above the recommended level, and many people with high cholesterol remain undetected.

At the launch, new research revealed that a ten per cent lowering of ‘bad’ LDL-cholesterol could save nearly 3,000 Australian lives each year. The research, conducted by The George Institute for International Health, indicated that even small reductions in cholesterol can substantially reduce heart attacks and strokes. This occurs across a broad range of individuals, irrespective of age, sex or initial cholesterol level.

As cholesterol levels are significantly influenced by diet, consuming the right types of fat, more foods with plant sterols, soy proteins and soluble fibre would deliver significant health benefits to the Australian population. Leading nutritionist and consultant to Unilever Australasia, Bill Shrapnel said, ‘Almost all Australian adults would benefit from dietary changes to lower blood cholesterol. It is now relatively easy to lower cholesterol through diet and the study clearly shows what a positive impact this would make, saving nearly 3,000 Australian lives a year’.

Unilever also announced its plan to raise awareness of cholesterol levels across the nation by providing free cholesterol tests at over 300 sites around the country in April and the NCEPA announced the launch of a new cholesterol information website www.ncepa.com.au and a program to raise awareness of cholesterol and its management through diet and lifestyle among Health Care Professionals. Associate Professor David Sullivan, president of the Australian Atherosclerosis Society said, ‘The rates of heart attack and stroke in Australia have fallen impressively during the past three to four decades. This reflects improvements in both lifestyle and treatment. Unfortunately, this improvement will not continue unless we do more to correct the underlying problems. Diet, including its effect on cholesterol, remains an area in which Australians can make life-saving changes that would prevent thousands of heart attacks and strokes’.

Associate professor Manny Noakes, research dietitian with CSIRO said, ‘The impact of making a change to healthy diet and active lifestyle is often underestimated. Making better food choices not only may prevent thousands of deaths in the future but may also improve our health and wellbeing now’.

Executive director of the Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA), Claire Hewat added that ‘the Association and its accredited practising dietitian members were committed to raising awareness of the important role diet plays in reducing the risk of disease, including cholesterol management’.

‘The DAA is pleased to be involved in NCEPA and we hope that by working with other like-minded organisations we can have a real impact in reducing the cholesterol levels of many Australians’ she concluded.

For more information on cholesterol, its impact on health and effective management through diet and lifestyle, visit www.ncepa.com.au.