Kids struggling with weight are getting lessons on movement to help them get through school day

Some school uniform shops in Queensland are taking orders for young boys needing shorts with 150cm waists - a size many adult stores do not sell.

SOME Queensland children will wear specially made uniforms bigger than 9XL when school returns this week.

The shock state of childhood obesity is exposed with the revelation that uniform shops are taking orders for young boys needing shorts with 150cm waists (59 inches).

Child obesity: Kids heavier, less active than parents | The Courier-Mail

And children are struggling so much with excessive weight that the Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) says parents are sending kids to special movement training to help them cope physically with a six-hour school day.

Nick Grambower, 9, in a pair of XXX shorts. Picture: AAP/Megan Slade

Greg McLeod of Williamson International, a Brisbane uniform supplier, said he had taken orders this year for school shorts with a 150cm waist – a size that many big men’s stores do not even cater for.

“We are very conscious of how a child carrying a lot of weight must feel when we are making a special-sized uniform. We want them to feel comfortable and wear exactly the same as all the other children,” Mr McLeod said.

While one in four Queensland children carry too much weight, there are many who struggle with severe obesity that hinders activity, concentration and learning and makes them targets for bullies.

Nicole Haynes, paediatric chair of the APA said parents were sending obese children for physiotherapy sessions to help with movement.

“Being overweight or obese makes movement more difficult and is a significant health issue, which is going to affect a child’s physical capabilities,” she said. “Addressing physical activity levels and other contributing factors to being overweight are essential to helping a child meet the demands of their day.”

Last year, The Courier-Mail revealed that Queensland doctors were treating a boy, 9, who weighed 178kg.

The Australian Medical Association Queensland president Dr Dilip Dhupelia told The Courier-Mail that doctors were extremely concerned by these extremes of childhood obesity.

“Apart from the obvious physical consequences of this, doctors are also extremely concerned for the emotional health of these children,” Dr Dhupelia said. “The social stigma and bullying that often comes with being heavily overweight as a child is linked to low self-esteem and depression.”

Dr Dhupelia said prevention was always better than cure, however, physical activity for obese children needed to be fun and attainable.