News

Cholesterol checks are unjustified

The American way of fighting heart disease through mass screening of cholesterol in the blood has been rejected by a recent report, just at the time some high-street retail chains were thinking of marketing over-the-counter tests. The report from King’s Fund consensus panel of ‘non-experts and dominated by non-medics’ could find no justification in checking everybody’s blood. Instead it has advocated a national strategy linking food supply with health, to reduce the general level of cholesterol in the population.

Current food policies the King’s Fund consensus panel said, either ignored the health issues or were detrimental to public health.

Producers were favoured over consumers, with, for example, the government avoiding policies that would promote semi-skimmed milk, because it feared the growth of another ‘butter mountain’.

The Department of Health is thought to favour mass screening, but has yet to rule officially on the cholesterol controversy.