Thaindian News

London, April 14 (IANS) An average 11-year-old girl now has a waistline that is nearly four inches larger than what was of girls in the late 1970s.

Rising levels of obesity mean that her waist is more than 27.6 inches, compared to 23.2 inches during the late 1970s. They now have the same size waist as a boy of the same age.

Although boys’ waistlines have also expanded, they have not grown to the same extent, rising to 27.6 inches compared to 24.2 inches during 1978.

The figures are further evidence that young women are more likely to become dangerously overweight than men, according to the Daily Mail.

This week, obesity expert Klim McPherson, professor at Oxford University, warned that the young, particularly women, were “eating themselves into an early grave”.

But although young men were making efforts to take more exercise and eat healthily, women are still putting on weight.

Experts believe problems begin at school and may be because girls are far more reluctant to take part in physical exercises or join school sports teams.

The latest measurements were taken from 2,500 children aged 4-17 years with a 3D scanner - and compared to readings taken from more than 8,000 children measured in 1978.

Compiled by market research firm Select Research, the readings are being used by stores, including Asda and Marks and Spencer, to adjust clothes sizing for children.

Youngsters are getting taller too. An average 11-year-old girl is almost 4 feet 11 inches, compared with just over 4 feet 9 inches in 1978.

The average height of an 11-year-old boy has risen to 4 feet 10 inches, an increase of one inch since 1978.