SCHOOL uniform sizes are ballooning in line with children's waistlines, now being made up to huge size 34.
As the country battles a child obesity crisis, manufacturers are reporting a significant rise in demand for larger sizes.
Companies are now producing uniforms for school kids with a 147cm chest and 142cm waists, which is bigger than a man's size XXXXXXL at major retailer K-Mart.
Uniform ranges can go up to size 26 for girls and size 34 for boys.
One company is also producing trousers with "discreet expandable waists" for the growing waistline.
Midford product manager Diana A'Amore said there had been significant increase in demand for larger sizes in the last three to five years.
She said the manufacturing company -- which produces uniforms for more than 50 shops in Victoria -- also did special orders for kids who don't fit into regular sizes.
This included trousers with a 142.2cm waist for a school boy, which is 20cm larger than a man's size XXXXXXL at K-Mart.
The company also did another order for a skirt measuring 119.4cm around the waist, which is the same as a women's size 26 at Target.
She said they didn't have the demand for such sizes 10 years ago.
"We have had an increasing demand for made-to-measure garments -- this is a direct result of the change in body shapes in our school children," she said.
"In addition to creating larger sizes we are developing new styles . . . our new pants and skirts have been designed incorporating discreet extendable waistlines.
"Not just for added comfort of growing bodies but for increasing waistlines, too."
Noone Imagewear managing director Michael Farrugia also said there was a demand for larger sizes.
"We have never had such a range of bigger sizes," he said.
Mr Farrugia said the largest size uniform they made was four times bigger than a size 16.
"If you accept Australian Standard sizes that would be going up to a size 26," he said.
"We are making a lot bigger garments," Mr Farrugia said. "There wasn't the extreme sizes you are getting now."
Obesity a shirty issue
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