Welcome to obese Britain, home of the XXXXXXXXL T-shirt

THE obesity crisis sweeping Britain is now so acute that dozens of shops are selling XXXXXXXXL size clothes.

The 8XL T-shirt would fit an incredible 80in chest and 80in waist – the equivalent of almost seven feet in circumference.

One in ten items now sold in plus size stores is 8XL.

Most of the shoppers buying the maximum-size clothing are in their 40s and 50s, but some stores have reported purchases from teenagers as young as 14.

The 8XL clothing lines, which are eight times an average large size, are currently only available in specialist shops.

Many major High Street retailers have also expanded their plus size ranges in response to consumer demand. Last year the UK spent £2.1billion on extra-large garments – a rise of £200million from four years ago, according to a report by retail analyst Columino.

Debenhams said demand for its plus size menswear had increased by 170 per cent in the past two years and in March it launched a 5XL male clothing range. Sales of women’s XL clothing have also grown rapidly.

Marks & Spencer, whose clothing sizes for women go up to 28, is the leading High Street brand with a 10.6 per cent share of the female plus size market.

Last week, a study in medical journal The Lancet predicted that by 2025 almost one in four adults in the UK will be obese – overtaking the current fattest nation in Europe, Malta. The average UK man now has a 42in chest and 37in waist – equivalent to a ‘large’ size.

Mark Simonelli, who owns Essex-based chain Sizedwell, claims he was the first to introduce size 8XL to the UK in 2000 after convincing his suppliers to invest in bigger equipment to accommodate the vast quantities of cloth needed.

Mr Simonelli said: ‘It is mainly middle-aged people who are size 6, 7 or 8XL but you see lots of kids growing into those sizes.

‘Some of them are very tall as well. People are getting so much bigger than they used to be.’

Tam Fry of the National Obesity Forum said: ‘People are getting fatter and fatter and the outlook is more and more pessimistic.’