The U. S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention claimed on Thursday, one in five American teens has unhealthy cholesterol levels, citing a major risk factor for heart disease in adults.

The heavier teen were more vulnerable they to possess high cholesterol, but even 14 percent of teens with normal body weight were found to suffer from unhealthy cholesterol levels, the CDC said.

Fifteen percent of the youths were overweight and 17% were obese based on BMI.

In the study, published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, CDC researchers analysed data involving 3,125 teens collected from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for 1999 through 2006.

The output revealed that 20.3 percent of young people aged 12 to 19 and more boys than girls had unhealthy cholesterol levels.

32% percent of all youths met screening guidelines from the American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP) based solely on their weight.

Amidst such a scenario, the AAP recommends cholesterol screening for young people with a family history of high cholesterol, early heart disease, or at least one major risk factor for heart disease, such as smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, or overweight/obesity.