KILTMAKERS are being asked to produce outfits equivalent to an XXXXL as Scots obesity levels rise.

Many shops are having to stock kilts with a 72-inch waist and 64-inch chest jackets due to high demand.

And there has also been a surge in the number of children ordering above-average adult size garments.

Health experts say that the situation is “horrifying” and shows the extent of Scotland’s obesity epidemic.

Ewan MacDonald, of Houston Kiltmakers in Paisley, said: “There’s been a massive increase in demand for bigger kilts, particularly among children.

“We have to give them adult kilts that have been drastically shortened.

“It’s getting out of control. In the past most adults had no more than a 34-inch waist.

“Now we sell kilts with 72-inch waists. Kilts are traditionally made with eight yards of material but we’re increasingly using 12 yards.

“We’ve also had to have 64-inch chest jackets made to meet demand.”

One in four men in Scotland is abdominally obese meaning that they have a waist bigger than 40 inches and one third of children are classed as overweight.

Edinburgh kiltmaker Gordon Nicolson said: “The biggest kilt we’ve sold to an adult had a 68-inch waist and we now do up to a 52-inch jacket and a 50-inch waist kilt.”

Obesity claims three lives every week in Scotland and the number of obesity-related deaths has risen by 40 per cent in the last five years.

Children as young as 15 have also been complaining of heart disease symptoms.

Tam Fry, or the National Obesity Forum, said that the situation in “horrifying”.

He added: “The 72-inch waist kilt demonstrates the problem we have.

“It’s going to take a generation or more to tackle this crisis.”

Scotland has one of the highest obesity and heart disease rates in the world and is ranked the third most obese nation behind the USA and Mexico.