Fasting not needed before kids' cholesterol tests, study suggests

(CBS) Checking kids' cholesterol levels may soon be much simpler, now that a new study has shown that fasting is unnecessary before the required test."

"Cholesterol testing can be very difficult for families," study author Dr. Asheley Cockrell Skinner, research associate professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina, said in a written statement. "When having to fast, this almost always means the child has to return on another morning for the test, which can be very problematic for busy families."

For the study - published in the journal "Pediatrics" - Dr. Cockrell's group looked at data on cholesterol levels in 13,000 children age three to 17 from a nationwide survey conducted between 1999 and 2006. They found that levels of total cholesterol and HDL (good) cholesterol were similar whether or not kids fasted for at least eight hours before their blood was tested, and that levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol varied only slightly.

The take-away message? Since fasting before cholesterol testing apparently isn't necessary, kids can probably be tested immediately during a visit to the doctor - whether or not the child's stomach is empty.

Current recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics calls for a fasting blood test to check cholesterol levels in kids as young as age two when there is a family history of high cholesterol or early death from hear disease. Cholesterol-lowering drugs should be considered for kids with high cholesterol, along with the use of reduced-fat dairy products and steps to increase activity levels and lose weight.

WebMD has more on high cholesterol in children.