Men’s waistlines in the construction industry are expanding more rapidly than people working in any other business sector, according to workwear specialist Alexandra.
The company, which provides construction and manual labour workwear, has reported a growing demand for larger clothing, after the average chest size order has increased by five inches over recent years.
According to data sourced by Alexandra in the UK, the chest size of workers in the sector has continued to expand over recent years, with the purchase of larger size boiler suits showing the greatest increase.
David Harmer, category manager at Alexandra, said: “The needs of our clients are constantly changing, and we consistently adapt our products to fit our clients’ specifications.”
Julie Aughton, marketing manager at Snickers workwear, added: “Over the past 10 years an increase in individuals’ size and weight has been well documented in the UK and to a certain extent this has been evident in the workwear market.”
However, Jane Coombs, occupational health director at Constructing Better Health, urged caution in the results. “It’s dangerous to say that construction has an issue with weight gain,” she said. “If Alexandra’s evidence for expanding waist sizes is based purely on an increase in sales of its larger clothing, which its statement seems to imply, that could be down to other factors, such as increasing compliance with PPE regulations and the drive to wear this type of protective workwear.
“Although generally UK people are getting bigger, I wouldn’t say the construction industry has any particular issues with overweight or obese workers because the nature of the work is more active than most, compared to office work, for example.”
