Prez Cholesterol Levels a Lesson for Others

Your cholesterol going up? Sure, you and the president. President Obama’s latest physical shows his LDL cholesterol–the bad stuff–has gone up by fifty percent in the last two years. Weird for a skinny guy. Or is it?

Linda Larson’s a wellness specialist at Gundersen Lutheran in La Crosse.  She says it’s not correct to assume that just overweight people have elevated cholesterol.   She says that’s a condition that can afflict even people of seemingly normal weight like the president.   Bad diet, genetics and a lack of exercise can play a part in levels of cholesterol.   Another big one–and one that’s a problem for president Obama, apparently; smoking.   Larson guesses the president’s smoking probably contributes to his increasing cholesterol.