Serum lipid levels in elementary and junior high school children and their relationship to relative weight

Serum lipid levels were measured in 2,626 schoolchildren ages 7 to 15 years in three elementary schools and one junior high school in a suburban area of Osaka during 1984-1985. The mean cholesterol levels increased with age in boys ages 7 to 10 years (from 156 to 177 mg/dl) and then decreased at age 13, after which the levels again increased slightly until age 15. Girls showed a similar tendency with a peak at age 10 and a minimum at age 12. Cholesterol levels were significantly lower in junior high school boys (a mean of 154-161 mg/dl for ages 13-15 years) than in girls of the same age or in boys and girls ages 10 to 12 years in the upper grades of elementary school. Cholesterol and triglyceride levels tended to be lower or the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels higher in elementary schools where boys and girls engaged in physical exercise than in schools where the children were not strongly encouraged to exercise. About 50% of the hypertriglyceridemic children were obese.