More than 50 percent of adults worldwide are expected to be categorized as overweight or obese by 2050. Currently, an estimated 67 percent of U.S. women shop for plus-size clothing options. Such current and predictive trends make it incumbent on companies in various markets, sectors, and industries to develop products and services that can meet the needs of larger consumers.

In health care settings for example, ambulance service providers have developed bariatric ambulances that can appropriately and safely treat patients who weight more than 350 pounds. The newly equipped transport vehicles feature adjusted stretchers and wheelchairs, among other adaptations. Transportation in other sectors is critical too; the travel industry has come under substantial scrutiny with regard to airlines’ efforts (or lack thereof) to accommodate passengers whose bodies do not fit in the seats. The challenge becomes especially acute as airlines continue to try squeezing more, smaller seats onto each plane, to maximize their ticket sales and revenues. For most travelers, the only available and extremely expensive solution is to purchase two seats instead of one, though some carriers offer a discount on additional seats. For example, Air France offers a 25 percent discount on the second seat purchased by customers who need it to fly comfortably.

Entertainment industry sellers also have been adapting their seating arrangements to fit various body types more effectively. At one FIFA World Cup for example, event planners reserved 1,675 seats for spectators who were not comfortably accommodated in the traditional stands. Many theaters in the United Kingdom list the measurements of different seats located in the venue so that attendees can select their seats accordingly.

Despite these pertinent examples, we still find many markets that are lagging behind, especially in retail apparel sectors. Stylish, comfortable, larger sized clothing remains woefully scarce. Even when brands have developed size-inclusive ranges, many of them list the items only through digital channels, rather than stocking them in brick-and-mortar stores. One reporter tested this allegation directly by visiting various Old Navy and Lululemon stores, none of which carried the larger sized that these brands make available online.

Other brands do not even attempt to offer inclusive sizes. Many higher-end fashion labels produce clothing ranges that stop at a U.S. size 12 or 14, even though the most common dress size purchased by U.S. women is a size 16. Although few labels cater to plus-sized clients, such as Torrid, Lane Bryant, and Ashley Stewart, they remain comparatively rare, such that stores are not necessarily proximal to shoppers who seek out their offerings. Furthermore, some of these retailers continue to be criticized for their failure to design a meaningful range of fashionable, stylish, and appealing options.

Even as these trends and demands put constant pressure on retailers and services providers to improve their offerings, a contrary development might be leading these actors to delay such efforts. The widespread introduction and consumer adoption of weight-loss drugs implies that, for consumers willing to embrace a medical approach to weight loss, their demand for extended size ranges might diminish. The long-term implications of these drugs remain to be seen—in terms of both their effects on people’s health, especially when taken for extended periods, and their influences on global obesity rates. Yet just a few years after their introduction, they appear to be exerting notable effects on weight and health outcomes, in ways that forward-thinking retailers likely are accounting for, or perhaps counting on.

Even if current trends reverse though, or other weight-loss solutions enter the market, shifts in the sizing curve are not beneficial to all consumers. In particular, the messages being sent to consumers who are classified as overweight continue to be problematic. Thus far, they receive signals that they cannot dress fashionably or stylishly, if they want to buy clothing from mass market retailers. In the future, they might infer that they should alter their bodies, such as by taking prescription medication, to fit in with a persistent standard, because the world will not change itself to accommodate them. They are all dangerous and irresponsible messages, which every retailer or service provider should work to disavow.

Discussion Questions 

1. How should retailers adapt to changing patterns in sizes, especially if sizing curves continue to shift dynamically? How can they do so in a way that is inclusive of all customers?
2. Review the website of a retailer that markets mainly to plus-size customers, such as Ashley Stewart. How does it attempt to appeal to consumers and encourage their buying behaviors?

Sources: Andrew Adam Newman, “I Went to a Mall with a Plus-Sized Retail Consultant. Now I Know Why She Dreads Shopping,” Retail Brew, March 12, 2025; Brooke Steinberg, “Ozempic Users Are Now Buying Smaller, ‘Edgier’ Clothes Post-Weight Loss, Retailers Say,” New York Post, June 17, 2024; Jessica Murray, “Sizing Up: How Stadiums, Hospitals, and Airlines Are Adapting to Rise in Obesity,” The Guardian, March 7, 2025; “Study: Majority of U.S. Women Are Plus-Size, Overlooked by Most Fashion Brands,” Chain Store Age, August 30, 2024.