The woman with the longest neck in the world hails from a fascinating community in south-east Asia. Why are their necks so long, and what's the deal with neck elongation?

Due to the popularity of traditional neck-rings in a number of south-east Asian countries, certain people have necks so long that they stand out among the rest of the population. It might be a strange and curious cultural quirk, but does it cause harm? And how tall is the longest neck?

What's neck elongation, how does it work, and how does it contribute to the world record for longest neck? TAG24 dives into this strange and fascinating tradition.

The women of the Padaung (Kayan) tribes, in north-west Thailand and south-east Myanmar, have the longest necks in the world.

Declared by Guinness World Records as having, by far, the longest human necks in the world, the Padaung women have a unique tradition of wearing coiled brass wire rings around their necks from a very young age. We'll cover how these rings work later, but for now it's important to understand that the rings have resulted in women's elongated necks.

The Kayan people have faced a lot of adversaries over the years, and have been persecuted by the Burmese military since the late 1980s, which explains why they have, in recent years, seen increased populations in Thailand, Vietnam, and even the United States.

Kayan women are often expected to wear the brass neck rings that have elongated their necks. In recent years, though, the government in Myanmar has begun discouraging these rings, as they are linked to a variety of health issues.

Research conducted at Otsuma Women's University revealed in 2018 that the necks of Kayan women have grown to be almost eight inches in length. As the girls get older, more rings are added, slowly stretching their necks out throughout the process of development.

Padaung women are often presented with their first rings as young as five, and some have ended up with more than 32 rings by their mid-late 40s. This has very serious, long-term, and permanent health implications, not to mention the potential for pain that comes from lengthening your neck.

Neck elongation is a process caused by the rings worn by many Padaung women in Thailand and Myanmar. The weight of the rings pushes down on the women's rib cages and slowly bends their collarbones and compresses their jaws. As a result, their necks seem longer than they otherwise would be, though there is no physical change to their spine or vertebrae.

There are many health consequences to this process, especially when you consider that these neck coils are rarely removed once they begin to be worn. On top of physical issues and the serious bruising and discoloration that is caused, neck rings have been known to be linked to respiratory and cardiovascular issues.

The key reason behind the unusually long necks found in many areas of Thailand and Myanmar is the neck rings worn widely by Kayan women. While you wouldn't expect such a thing to have a noticeable effect once someone reaches adulthood, the habit of adorning girls as young as two with these pieces of jewelry causes their necks to grow in an unusual way.

It's a fascinating piece of culture and a tradition about which there are a variety of possible perspectives. Ultimately, the world's longest neck is a result of body modification, make of that what you will.