(NaturalNews) Obesity rates have reached epic proportions -- literally -- as a new British retailer unveils its largest clothing size ever: the XXXXL size. According to a recent report in
New York Daily News, "High and Mighty", a U.K. "big and tall" store for men recently plopped the XXXXL clothing on its store shelves, with expanded shirts for men that have 64-inch chests, and widened pants for men that have 60-inch waists.
"We are leading increasingly sedentary lives," explained John Murphy, director of retail operations at High and Mighty, to
Telegraph reporters concerning the new size line. "It is hard for parents to keep their children away from the television or the computer, and the consequences of that are visible."
According to the
Telegraph, a full quarter of Britons are now officially obese. Twenty percent of British men now have a waist size larger than 38 inches, and a chest size larger than 44 inches. And obesity has become so mainstream that "fat" clothes are now being sold alongside normal clothes in many mainstream retail shops.
"Clearly so many are reaching this weight that clothes to fit them are available on the High Street (a generic name for a primary business street) alongside normal sizes," emphasized Tam Fry, spokeswoman for the National Obesity Forum. "The public health implications are huge, and it is going to take a generation or more to tackle this crisis."
High and Mighty plans to more than double the number of its retail stores within the next three years -- increasing from its 14 current stores to 25 -- since increasing numbers of new men are falling into the larger size category.
And another "big and tall" retailer recently began selling "plus-size"
clothing for children as young as three years old, citing the fact that a whole new generation of obese children needs clothing that comes in sizes larger than what is currently available.
Sources for this story include:http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/health/2010/11/01/2010-11-01_bri...http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/8098662/Obese...
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