Buyer's Forum
Weighty Matters
Marcy Bruch, Executive Editor, Frames and Retail

It's sad but true. Most Americans are overweight. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, about 61 percent of the adult population--97 million people--and 13 percent of the children in our nation are overweight. In Great Britain, 22 percent of the population is considered overweight, and in continental Europe only nine percent of the people are overweight. The number of obese Americans is at the highest level ever recorded.

But that doesn't mean we're taking the fact lying down. As a nation, last year alone we spent a staggering $40 billion on health clubs, exercise equipment, and every kind of diet aid from fat-trapping pills to slimming soap, according to Marketdata Enterprises.

The good news is Nextpert trend editors predict this exercise movement will only increase. They say the so-called "cocooners" of the '90s have emerged from their domestic nests to embrace Mother Nature by hiking, biking, and doing anything that revs up the metabolism while outdoors.

For dispensers, that means there are actually two pools of customers for sport sunwear. There are the avid athletes with firm physiques who will want sport-specific sunwear that addresses their performance needs. Then, there are the motivated weight-losers who are ready and willing to gear up for the cause but don't need all the technical bells and whistles. Something like a simple polarized wrap would probably be ideal for them.

Regarding the ophthalmic side of the business, there's something else to consider when fitting frames on our burgeoning overweight population. Just think big. According to Jean Scott, director of product development for Luxottica, the company has added larger sizes in all their brands so frames don't look so small on chubby faces. Since Detroit won the dubious honor of being the fattest city in the nation, dispensers there might want to take note.