testing for cholesterol

how often should a person be tested for cholesterol? are younger or older people more at risk?

The US Preventive Task Force issued new recommendations in June for high cholesterol screening to begin at 35 in men and 45 for womes, although they say to start as eary as 20 if one is at risk for heart disease.

Luckily, cholesterol test are easily available over-the-counter at pharmacies and online home health screening companies. If you are trying to evaluate new diet or exercise on cholesterol levels you can do a before and after test but you really should give it at least 3 to 6 months to notice a change.