RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TOTAL SERUM-CHOLESTEROL LEVEL AND NUTRITIONAL AND PHYSICAL STATUS IN NEPALESE RURAL PEOPLE

To investigate the nutritional condition in a hilly village (Kotyang) and a suburban village (Bhadrakali) in Nepal and to clarify the possib le cause of the difference in total serum cholesterol level between th e two groups of villagers habitually eating low fat diets, we carried out a nutrition survey using the 24-h recall method and blood sampling in 403 subjects (204 men and 199 women) in the hilly village and 466 (244 men and 222 women) in the suburban village. Total serum cholester ol was statistically significantly lower in the hilly villagers than i n the suburban villagers for both sexes, but HDL-cholesterol was not. In both villages, 82% of the total energy was taken from carbohydrate, 7-8% from fat and 10% from protein. Energy, protein, fiber, potassium , magnesium, monounsaturated fatty acid, polyunsaturated fatty acid, a nd vitamin A in the hilly villagers were significantly higher than tho se in the suburban villagers. Total serum cholesterol was significantl y associated with age and body fat percentage, suggesting that total s erum cholesterol level was not directly associated with total fat inta ke in these Nepalese people.