The concentration of cholesterol in serum and in various serum lipoproteins in macrobiotic, vegetarian and non-vegetarian men and boys.

The concentrations of total and high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol and the ratio of HDL-cholesterol to total cholesterol have been examined in groups of non-vegetarian, semi-lactovegetarian, lactovegetarian and marcobiotic men aged 30-39 years and boys aged 6-11 years. In the men, the concentration of total cholesterol ranged from 3.8 mmol/l in the macrobiotics to 5.5 mmol/l in the non-vegetarians, while the concentration of HDL-cholesterol varied between 1.2 mmol/l and 1.4 mmol/l. The ratio of HDL-cholesterol/total cholesterol varied from 0.23 in the non-vegetarian men to 0.31 in the macrobiotics and it was negatively related to the body mass index (ratio of weight to height2). In the boys the concentration of total cholesterol ranged from 3.4 mmol/l in the macrobiotics to 4.3 mmol/l in the semi-lactovegetarians, while the concentration of HDL-cholesterol varied between 1.2 mmol/l to 1.4 mmol/l. The ratio of HDL-cholesterol/total cholesterol was similar in the four groups (0.33-0.35). The concentration of cholesterol in various lipoprotein fractions separated by ultracentrifugation was also estimated in subsamples of the populations. The variation between groups in the concentration of HDL-cholesterol appeared to be largely due to variations in the concentration of cholesterol in the HDL2 fraction (1.063 less than rho 20 less than 1.125).