Should I be killing myself over this?

[Unhealthy123]

Here are my stats:

Total Cholesterol: 238
LDL: 154
HDL: 75

I'm only 16, and I was wondering if I should go on a low cholesterol diet. I mean, i'm still growing so I don't want to deprive myself of any nutrients I may be recieving in otherwise fattening foods.... which brings me to another topic.

I'm not overweight or anything, in fact i'm below average when it comes to that aspect (123 pounds or so, I think normal is around 144), and I pretty much each less than average as well. I know ANYONE can have high cholesterol, but I really want to gain weight, and it's pretty hard to find foods that are high in calories but low in saturated fat, low in cholesterol, & relatively low in fat (as a whole). I've tried surfing the net, but all the high cholesterol sites just assume that you're overweight or close enough to it.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[ARIZONA73]

Your numbers overall are actually pretty good. Your HDL is high, giving you a TC/HDL ratio of 3.17, which is near ideal. From the numbers you provided, it appears that your triglycerides are only 45, which is great! So I wouldn't worry about your cholesterol if I were you.

As far as gaining weight is concerned, I'm afraid I can't help you with that. But, believe it or not, I was in the exact same position you are in when I was 16. I was about 5'9" and weighed only 115 pounds. I ate everything and anything and still couldn't gain a pound. By the time I graduated high school I was 132 pounds. It took me another 10 years or so before I was up to 145 pounds. And so here I am today at 5'10" and 152 pounds. It took me nearly 30 years, but I'm finally at my ideal weight. And you know what? In a way I feel kind of fortunate, because if I had gained weight easily when I was 16 years old, it's likely that I would be fighting to lose weight today. So try not to worry about it. Actually you're one of the lucky few in the country today. Hey, you don't have to starve yourself to control your weight. In time, your metabolism will change and you WILL begin gaining weight. But until then, just count your blessings and try not to worry about it.

[zip2play]

Unhealthy,

PLEASE, Don't worry about being underweight.
Life settles that issue in SPADES. At age 13 I was 6'2" and weighed 120#...47 years later I'm EXACTLY 100 pounds heavier and, damn, not a centimeter taller!

Start early to avoid greasy fast foods and to ELIMINATE all trans-fats. If you work out for some muscle gain, go with high protein lower fat sources like fish (you can't eat it too often) and fowl. Don't abuse dairy...a lifetime of butterfat overconsumption is a dangerous thing.

And everytime you step on a scale and see a number below the "normal" 144, laugh heartily!

As Arizona says, you're numbers are good....if you can lower the LDL over the years, so much the better!