Is your neck a mirror to your health?

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - The size of your neck could say a lot about your health.

New research published in the Journal Pediatrics shows that measuring your neck may calculate body fat better than one's body mass index, or BMI.

Researchers at the University of Michigan School of Medicine took a measuring tape to the necks of 1,102 children. They also recorded their heights and weights and using the data came up with neck measurements that could indicate weight problems at different ages.

For instance, they found that a 6-year-old boy whose neck is greater than 11.2 inches had more than three times the risk of being overweight or obese.

Dr. Dominique Williams with Children's Hospital of the Kings Daughters in Norfolk said doctors can tell a lot about health risks depending on where someone carries weight.

A short, wide neck could put you at risk for sleep apnea, diabetes and high blood pressure.

But before you grab a tape measure, she warns, "It's something I wouldn't encourage to do at home, because then that's asking the parent to collect this data, interpret this data and then figure out is this something I need to take to my doctor?"

Williams suggests instead checking the back of their necks for a dark ring that will not wash off, which can be a sign of diabetes.