High concentrations of blood fats are common in the U.S. population and many do not receive proper treatment for it, according to a new study.

Scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed blood samples for 5,610 participants aged 20 or older who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys between 1999 and 2004.

A total of 33.1 percent of the participants had a triglyceride concentration of 150 milligrams per deciliter or higher, 17.9 percent had a concentration of 200 milligrams per deciliter or higher and 1.7 percent had a concentration of 500 milligrams per deciliter or higher.

The 2001 National Cholesterol Education Program report defines levels between 150 and 199 milligrams per deciliter as borderline.

“Increasing evidence supports triglyceride concentration as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease,” the researchers wrote in a recent issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

They also suggest that lifestyle changes such as exercise and diet are the preferred initial treatment for hypertriglyceridemia, the condition resulting from high triglyceride levels which may lead to atherosclerosis and heart attack.

Meanwhile, according to Thaindian.com, a new study has shown that nutritional supplements containing lipoic acid can significantly reduce triglycerides levels.