School uniforms with up to a 50 inch waistline are now being sold in an effort to cope with the increasing Irish obesity problem. Some one-in-four primary school children are either overweight or obese.

Uniform suppliers have been increasing the waistlines, shirt collars and bust width sizes in order to meet the change in demand.

The move comes on the back of a call from the Irish Heart Foundation for a 20% tax on sugary soft-drinks in the next budget.

The Department of Health says Irish adults could be the "first generation to bury their children" if obesity is not urgently addressed.

It is claimed that a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages could potentially lead to a 1.3% reduction in obesity - which would reduce the number of obese adults by around 10,000 in Ireland and the total number of adults who are overweight, including obese, by 14,000.

An IPSOS/MRBI study says over half of the public now supports a tax on sweetened drinks.

52% of the public are in favour of the tax, compared to 46% against - while 87% of the population believe that sugar-sweetened drinks contribute to obesity among children and young people.

Dr Donal O'Shea is a consultant endocrinologist and director of the Weight Management Clinic at St Columcilles Hospital in Loughlinstown, Dublin.

He told Newstalk Breakfatst that more needs to be done to help parents to recognise obesity in their children.