Cholesterol is a waxy substance that is produced naturally in our liver and other organs. We also absorb cholesterol from food that comes from animals such as meat, poultry, fish, seafood and dairy products, especially egg yolks. Our bodies need a certain amount of cholesterol to make cell membranes, insulate nerves and to produce hormones.
It is vital that we have enough cholesterol if our bodies are to work properly. But too much cholesterol can cause our arteries to become blocked, which increases our risk of heart disease and stroke.
Blocked arteries occur when excess cholesterol and other fatty substances attach themselves to the walls of the arteries, causing them to become narrower or ‘furred up’, meaning that blood cannot pass through as easily. Over time partially blocked arteries also become hardened and inflamed, increasing the risk of breakage.
All this increases the risk of a range of vascular diseases, such as heart disease, stroke and kidney disease.
High cholesterol itself doesn’t cause any symptoms. This means that you could have high cholesterol and not know about it. The only way to know your cholesterol level is to have it tested.
You don’t need to be a Doctor to offer Cholesterol Testing
By taking a small finger stick sample it is possible to obtain an accurate cholesterol result in under 2 mins with a simple two button hand held unit. UK guidelines recommend that your cholesterol level should be less than 5mmol/l however the actual average is currently around 5.7mmol/l.
| UK Total Cholesterol Recommended Ranges | ||
| Test | Rating | Value |
| Cholesterol | Ideal | < 4 |
| Desirable | 4.0 – 4.9 | |
| Increased Risk | 5.0 – 6.0 | |
| Undesirable | > 6 | |
With an increasing amount of personal trainers emerging every year it’s important to differentiate your service from your competitors. Offering a Cholesterol testing service not only gives you the edge over your rivals but gives you essential health information for your client which can be used as an initial bench mark, as part of an assessment and to highlight health concerns. Within a health club environment it can be used for corporate outreach, boosting secondary spend or as a membership benefit.
Fitech Cholesterol kit
The Fitech entry level Cholesterol kit gives you everything you need to run a testing service designed for health clubs and personal trainers priced at only £199. It comes with 25 tests and by charging just £10 per test you can pay off your initial cost straight away. On-going tests cost just £2.46 per test plus consumables and training courses are run every two months to help get you started.
Click here for more information about the Fitech Cholesterol kit
Professional Reporting
Fitech V5 system can manage your results and produce a professional report for your client. You can calculate the percentage likelihood of your client developing CVD, cardiovascular disease (CHD and stroke added together) over a 10 year period using the Cardiac Risk assessments.
For further information call Fitech on 0118 324 0061 or email sales@fitech.co.uk
Referenced from the JBS2: Joint British Societies Guidelines on Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Clinical Practice and NHS guidelines.