Overweight children are being tailored to, literally, by leading retailer Marks & Spencer.

Marks and Spencer has launched a new range of over-sized school uniforms for children that are aged as young as four. The decision comes after studies reveal that one out of every five British schoolchildren is clinically overweight when they begin their schooling.

In the new M&S Plus school wear range, items include clothing designed for pre-school children who have waistlines of anywhere up to 23 inches – which is the size more usually found on the average eight year old. Marks and Spencer has said that the trial range of clothing followed demand for bigger sizes from parents, while industry experts said that the decision simply reflected the growing rate of obesity among younger children.

According to the National Obesity Forum’s Tam Fry, the move was commercial recognition of what the public and parents had been aware of for years, namely, that obesity levels in pre-schoolers is on the rise. Fry added that of all new entrants to primary schools across Britain, 27 per cent were obese or overweight.

The Plus school wear collection hit the shelves last week, and targets the 3 – 16 age bracket, with waistlines in both boys pants and girls skirts ranging up to 41 inches. A spokesperson for M&S said that they wanted to ensure that their school wear range was accessible to all shapes and sizes of pupil.

Leading retailer Asda has introduced a new minimum pricing structure on alcohol.

The group has further declared that it will undertake closer working relationships with the UK government to ensure that it is at the forefront of tackling alcohol misuse and abuse across Britain.

The announcement follows the recent high-profile media case of a Tesco store that sold wine for less than cost price in Scotland, leading health campaigners to claim that supermarket chains could not be trusted to be self-policing when it came to the sale of alcohol.

Asda introduced its new alcohol policy on Tuesday, whereby a floor price of duty plus VAT is set on more than 99 per cent of the alcohol sold by the group. This will result in a minimum price of £8.95 for a 20-pack of 440ml 5 per cent strength cans of beer, which would be made up of a duty of £7.62 plus the VAT of 17.5 per cent on top. Similarly, a 750ml bottle of wine would go for a minimum of £1.99 and a one-litre bottle of spirit such as vodka at £10.49.

Asda has also proposed that the government enforce the same policy throughout the entire retail industry in a letter to home secretary Theresa May from chief executive Andy Clarke. Mr Clarke claims that Asda supports a Responsibility Agreement on Alcohol development agreement to ensure that the previously successful partnership between government and industry would not be wasted, and that in conjunction with the OFT, all those involved would be responsible for establishing a safe retail environment which would openly discuss and tackle the issues of alcohol misuse across the UK.

Being part of a group has been called more effective than the NHS when it comes to losing weight.

That is the verdict of one leading UK nutritionist should argues that GPs would be better of referring obese patients to group-focused weight-loss schemes instead of the national health provider.

The Medical Research Council’s Dr Susan Jebb found in a new study that sufferers who joined the popular WeightWatchers programme lost on average twice as much weight compared to those with individual GP care. Although the study was partially funded by WeightWatchers, Dr Jebb stressed that all similar group programs were likely to be just as effective. The National Obesity Forum has also said that NHS patients could benefit from group help, while the NHS is trialling pilot schemes with WeightWatchers, the recognised leading weight loss company.

Jebb and her colleagues spent over a year studying test patients referred to WeightWatchers meetings by GPs in Northampton, while also running similar projects in both Germany and Australia. The GPs referred half of their patients to the group program, leaving the remainder as a comparative group where they were generally provided with information and appointments with healthcare professionals. At the end of the 12 months, the WeightWatchers patients came out best, losing on average close to 7kg (15lbs), whereas the GP-led group lost on average3kg (6lbs).

While 3kg may not seem like a significant amount, ask anyone who has ever tried to lose weight and they will tell you that the slightest change can make all the difference, especially to diabetics or those with weight-associated illnesses. Ultimately, it appears the weekly meetings and group accountability is the better motivator.

A new study by ebookers.com, the European online travel specialist, has found British hotels need to clean up their act.

To help promote this campaign, ebookers is launching a new competition in which you could become a Hotel inspector. The report found that everything from beds to air conditioning, cleanliness to staff approachability all made up the overall hotel experience, which was topped by US hotels, with Spain, France and Greece coming in at the bottom.

Steven Rice, ebookers Head of Offline Marketing in the UK, France and Ireland said:”Choosing the right hotel can be a stressful task and our search for the ebookers’ Hotel Inspector aims to take some of the stress out of the decision-making process, by producing high quality reviews for our customers”. The competition is open to all UK residents, and all you need to do to enter is send an email to ebookershotelinspector@redconsultancy.com by Friday 23rd July including a recent photo and 250 words on where you believe you’d find the best hotel, what you think makes a hotel experience great and why ebookers should choose you.

“This is a great opportunity for one lucky person to travel the World to locate the ultimate hotel, sharing their personal tips and experiences to our customers along the way. We’re looking for people with a passion for travel to help uncover the best hotels on offer and if you think you’ve got what it takes to become ebookers Hotel Inspector we encourage you to get in touch,” said Rice.

Katie Price, Cheryl Cole, and Lindsay Lohan are off the tanning chart, literally. The trio of stunners has been named as just some of the many celebrities who have used fake tanning services, with the results occasionally being a disaster.

The new Debenhams ‘Tan Tone Colour chart’, which looks remarkably like a painting colour guide, has been put together to help those addicted to getting some colour avoid ending up either florescent of overly coloured, which the likes of Cole, Price and Lohan can all admit to. Other notable celebrity tanners include Alex Reid, Dale Winton and wrestler Hulk Hogan.

The Beauty Halls of the leading high street retailer have recently been revamped to match the change of season, and welcome a new round of tanners while providing them with the best solutions to they’re pale pores. Now customers can identify where they place on the tanning chart, which ranges from ‘pale and interesting’ up to ‘radioactive orange’, with Alex Reid’s latest effort a good example of the latter, while Nicola Roberts has been suggested as typifying the former.

Director of Beauty at Debenhams, Sara Stern, claimed this summer was all about looking bronzed, but that research by her team had found that a high 70 per cent of DIY tanners get it wrong. Unsurprisingly, says Stern, the three major sins committed were using too much product, choosing the wrong tone for their skin and applying to frequently.

The lead up to the so far blessedly pleasant British summer saw Debenhams fake tan sales soar by around 64 per cent, as people rushed to give themselves a base tan to go on holiday with, in keeping with the historical irony of the trend for using tanning products when the sun comes out.

The most popular brands of fake tanning products are Clarins, Lancaster Sun, St Tropez, Fake Bake, Xen Tan and Famous Dave’s. Stern also said that they had started stocking tan remover from St Tropez, making the analogy with a paint shop even more poignant.