If any further proof of the rapidly increasing problem of childhood obesity was needed, a quick look at the waistbands of the nation's school uniforms should be enough.
School uniform manufacturer Underwood's said today the national average had jumped by about six sizes over the past 50 years.
General manager Danielle Butler said a report from England saying the country's largest schoolwear retailer had expanded its range of outsized uniforms for off the rack sale definitely had its parallels in New Zealand.
The British company had supplied trousers with a 120cm waist for a 13-year-old girl, and a 120cm blazer for an 11-year-old boy.
One child in three in the UK is overweight or clinically obese, and the figure is projected to rise to one in two by 2020 if changes are not made to children's diets and activity levels.
Ms Butler said shorts with waist measurements of up to 140cm were already for sale on Underwood's Auckland shelves.
The company regularly supplied adult extra large sizes to primary school children.
Underwood's had been supplying uniforms since 1956 and she said the differences in size seen since then were dramatic.
Fifty years ago, the average high school shirt was a size 10 to 12.
Now, she said it was a size 16 to 18.
The increased girth was being observed in both boys and girls, she said.
Children were also growing taller.
The growth had occurred most noticeably over the part 10 years or so.
Ministry of Health figures classify around a third of New Zealand children as overweight or obese.
- NZPA
