A US research team has discovered that measuring the thickness of a persons neck may provide as many clues to their risk of developing conronary heart disease (CHD) and other heart problems.

Researchers from the Framingham Heart Study found even those with relatively trim waistlines appeared to be at greater risk if they had larger necks.

High Denisty Lipoprotein

The research identied that people with thicker necks have lower levels of High Density Lipoproteins, or "good" cholestrol and higher levels of blood glusoce. It is good cholesterol takes cholesterol away from the cells and back to the liver, where it is broken down.

The research

The US research team looked at over 3,300 mean and women and found that as the neck circumference of a researchee grew so did their chance of developing heart problems. The average neck circumference found in teh study was 40.5 cm for men an 34.2 cm for women.

The US research team found that for every extra 3 cm in neck circumference the level of HDL in men fell by 2.2 milligrams and womens good cholestrol levels fell by 2.7 milligrams per per decilitre of blood (mg/dl).

Low Denisty Lipoprotein

Neck size made no difference to levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad" cholesterol, which can cause harm, but it did affect blood glucose levels - for every 3cm more of neck men had 3.0mg/dl more and women 2.1mg/dl.

A normal fasting blood glucose level is below 100 mg/dl - and an increased level is thought to be an accurate indicator of heart problems to come.

A sign of things to come

While risk was higher regardless of waistline, it was compounded for those who had both a fat neck and who were larger than average around the middle.

The team speculated that a fat neck may be a "crude measure" of upper body fat - which has been associated with heart risks.