Simple neck test could predict your risk of an early death

Metro

9 hours ago

Steve Charnock Published August 19, 2025 2:29pm Updated August 19, 2025 2:29pm Link is copied Comments Chances are that - unless you're a bodybuilder - you don't tend to think much about the size of your neck. However, perhaps you should. Only the science is increasingly suggesting that neck size could well reveal quite a lot about your long-term health. A growing pile of studies has shown that a thicker neck is linked to a greater risk of developing serious problems like irregular heart rhythms, strokes and even early death. Researchers say that measuring your neck could be a surprisingly simple way to keep tabs on health risks, sometimes giving better clues than the more common checks like body mass index or waist size (Picture: Getty Images) One of the strongest links so far comes from some research work from Boston, Massachusetts, that followed more than 4,000 people who were part of the long-running Framingham Heart Study. None of them had atrial fibrillation (a heart rhythm disorder where the upper chambers beat out of sync) at the start of the study. After more than a decade of follow-ups and monitoring, those with bigger necks were far more likely to develop the condition (Picture: American Heart Association) For men, a high-risk cut-off was about 17 inches, while for women it was around 14 inches. What made these findings so striking is that the connection held up even after taking weight, height and waist size into account. In other words, it was not just about being overweight in general. A thicker neck on its own appeared to carry extra risk. The researchers believe this is because the fat stored in the upper body behaves differently from other fat. It can release substances into the bloodstream that interfere with things like blood sugar control and cholesterol balance, both of which play into heart disease (Picture: American Heart Association) The trouble with atrial fibrillation is that it often shows absolutely no warning signs until something rather medically serious happens. Some people notice fluttering in the chest, breathlessness or tiredness, but many others don't. The condition makes the heart pump inefficiently and raises the chance of clots forming. These clots can then travel to the brain and trigger a stroke. People with atrial fibrillation also have higher rates of heart failure, which helps explain why the condition is such a concern for doctors worldwide (Picture: Getty Images) Evidence from a huge study in South Korea back in 2018 drove this point home effectively. Looking at more than 15,000 patients with atrial fibrillation, the researchers found the risk of death was almost four times higher than in the general population. The danger was not the same for everyone, though. Women fared worse than men. And younger people with the condition had proportionally higher risks than older adults. The leading cause of death among these patients was cardiovascular disease, with strokes topping the list (Picture: Getty Images) If we look at some of the other research which has been carried out in the field, we see almost the exact same warning signs appearing again and again. A study conducted in Israel in 2019 used CT scans to estimate the amount of fat around the neck in just over 300 people that were being checked for suspected strokes. When they followed these patients for around three and a half years, they saw that those with the most neck fat were more than twice as likely to die compared to those with smaller measurements. And this was after taking account a number of factors such as age, sex and pre-existing medical conditions like diabetes (Picture: Getty Images) The Israeli research team noticed that patients with thicker necks were also more likely to have a list of health problems including high blood pressure, kidney disease and general heart trouble. This suggested that neck fat was not just a harmless body feature, but actually marker of broader health risks. Interestingly, even those with a relatively normal body mass index could fall into the danger group if their neck measurement was high, underlining again that the traditional scales and waistline checks do not always give the full picture (Picture: Getty Images) Fresh data from a piece of research carried out in Shanghai in 2022 added further weight to the argument. Here, researchers tracked more than 1,400 adults aged between 50 and 80 for an average of nearly eight years. They discovered that every increase in neck size raised the chances of a cardiovascular event like a heart attack or stroke. The effect was noticeably stronger in men than in women. Men with thicker necks were almost twice as likely to experience these problems compared to their slimmer-necked peers, even after adjusting for other risk factors (Picture: Getty Images) What appeals to experts about using neck measurement as a diagnostic tool here is its simplicity. It requires nothing more than a tape measure placed just below the Adam's apple while standing upright. There is no need for blood tests or fancy scans, and it could be done quickly, even at home. While neck size alone does not determine your health, the evidence suggests it can act as a useful warning sign. Paying attention to it could give people an extra nudge to take heart health seriously (Picture: Getty Images)
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