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It is high time for the fashion world to realize the changing size of their customers. Fashion designers are still busy making clothes for the slim models. But they should be aware that the women who buy their clothes are not the same. The average size of an American woman has increased to 14.

Obesity is an epidemic, that fact is plain for us all to see. Over half of the women in this country are overweight or obese. It is worse for middle-aged women. In this demographic close to 2/3 are overweight. Another quickly growing demographic is teenage girls. As a result there is a sharp increase in the demand for clothing plus size and larger.

The demand for plus size clothing is increasing tremendously but the supply is insufficient. So there is a lot of opportunity in the business of plus size clothing. Obese people don't find their size in the latest fashion clothes. They are not able to follow the latest trends of the fashion industry due to this unavailability.

The main response seems to be what industry observers have termed size inflation. That is, what used to be called a size 14 may now be labeled as a 10, giving the consumer the illusion of having a smaller size without addressing their real concerns. The result is dissatisfied consumers of plus size fashion clothing.

The good news is that changes are on the way. For the first time since World War II, a consortium of clothes manufacturers, led by American plus size clothing makers, has conducted a huge sizing study for women. This way, they can be sure that clothing that they make will fit the women of today. There are some plus size only fashion shows and plus size models, but their numbers are still limited.

For the foreseeable future, the number of people classified as overweight will continue to increase. Clothes makers are aware of this trend, but so far have been fairly slow to adapt their lines of clothing. Plus size clothing is becoming the standard size sold to most customers, instead of the niche market that it has been. Fashion houses need to recognize this and start designing their mainstream clothes lines specifically for this growing class of customers.