Is Your Number Up?

Although we tend to think of "high cholesterol" as a problem facing middle-aged males who have spent a little too much time on the patio turning over not-so-lean beef on the BBQ, this eye-opening documentary shows that cholesterol is a concern for all of us. This wide-ranging program, hosted by NBC's Faith Daniels, visits participants of the East Harlem Healthy Heart program, where residents might encounter rappers singing about the evils of cholesterol on a street corner, or run into a guided tour in their local supermarket. In Livingston, NJ, school children participate in a study designed to gauge the effects of high cholesterol on children. Elsewhere, researchers are studying the link between estrogen and lower levels of cholesterol in women through estrogen replacement therapy for post-menopausal subjects. And a group of senior citizens dubbed "The Breakfast Club" are finding out that it's never too late to knock those LDL levels down. Not a "how-to" program like the excellent The No-Nonsense Cholesterol Guide (reviewed in our December 1991 issue), Is Your Number Up? is a good informative supplement. Recommended. (See AMERICA'S EDUCATION REVOLUTION for availability.)