Obesity and Plus Sizes

Observing the Effect of Obesity in Plus Size Sales

Increased prices are evident all around, and it has come to the attention of businesses that they ought to get bigger with what they offer—literally. Plus size stores are now being established in order to meet the needs of those on the heavier side.

According to CBS News, what these businesses offer are manifested in various stores, selling an assortment of products such as seat belts, plus size t-shirts and apparel, weighing scales, extra large towels, and more. Statistics reveal that back in 2000, women were spending more than 15 billion dollars on clothes with sizes 16 and above, signifying an approximate 22% increase from the year before.

In addition, more data showed that the fashion brought about by these plus size stores elevated—specifically from 4% to 6% from 1997 until 2001. One of the first clothing lines to get involved was Liz Claiborne. The brand particularly lent its name to a full-figure line named Elisabeth in the late 1980s. Other fashion tycoons that followed suit included Ralph Lauren, Marissa Christina, Tommy Hilfiger, and even Jennifer Lopez.

Obesity and Plus Sizes: A Direct Relationship

Apparently, the effect of obesity in plus size sales is noticeable. In 2004, at least one fourth of all the clothing sales came from plus size clothes for the women. Again, more clothing lines and the big clothing retailers joined the trend. Examples are Old Navy, Nordstrom, The Gap, Macy’s, and Banana Republic.

In the United States of America, health writers stated that the increasing girth size of Americans triggered the fashion industry to come up with products that fit the overweight and the obese. Not only Is this applied to women, but to the men as well. The pair of pants, for example, has undergone modifications in style. What was labeled as regular is now called slim cut or tight fit. Meanwhile, the new regular is bought more by those who have extra weight.

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