NECTEC/NSTDA unveils SizeThailand

03 Mar '09

5 min read

The National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC) under the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), in cooperation with partners in the public and private sectors, (25 February), unveiled 'SizeThai', Thailand's first standard body size chart developed using 3D Body Scanning technology.

It is the result of a two-year research programme called 'SizeThailand' that collated the average size of Thai men and women of different age groups based on a survey of 13,442 people across the country using advanced 3D Body Scanning technology.

The event was presided over by Minister of Science and Technology Dr. Khunying Kalaya Sophonpanich. She said the findings, which are being made publicly available at sizethailand.org will help Thai industry design products that better suit the typical Thai physique. Businesses that are expected to benefit include designers and manufacturers of garments, chairs, beds and other furniture, automobiles, and even medicine.

While countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and France have used the advanced new 3D Body Scanning technology to collate such data on their populations for the benefit of their local industries, in Asia, Thailand will be the first country to do so after Japan,” said Dr. Pansak Siriruchatapong, Executive Director of NECTEC.

He said the new data will help businesses improve their efficiency by being able to manufacture products, such as garments, that are better designed to suit the groups for which they are aimed and ensure that shops do not waste resources stocking ill-fitting products. For example, in the UK, when SizeUK was launched, many garment retailers reported that they were able to improve sales and minimize 'returned products' because their clothing better fitted the shape of their target buyers,” said Dr. Pansak.

He noted that, since 1982, the average Thai woman aged under 50 years has become 5 cm taller and 5.4 kg heavier, while her waistline has ballooned by 3.7 inches, bottom grown by 2 inches, and chest expanded by 2.2 inches.

The average Thai man aged under 50 years has become 7.2 cm taller and an amazing 11.4 kg heavier. His chest has expanded 5.4 inches, waistline 4 inches, and bottom 3.4 inches.“The fact that women's waistlines have grown almost twice as much as their chests and bottoms means that the shape of the average Thai woman has also changed. Not only have women become bigger, they have also become more tubular and have less of the traditional hourglass shape,” Dr. Pansak said.

Dr. Chularat Tanprasert, the Director of Knowledge Elicitation and Archiving Laboratory at NECTEC who initiated the SizeThailand programme, said, “The SizeThailand programme was carried out in partnership with the Thai Industrial Standards Institute, Kasetsart University, the National Statistical Office, Ramathibodi Hospital, the Thai Tailors Association, the Thailand Textile Institute, the Federation of Thai Industries, and Pattern IT. It also received the valuable support of the private sector, including Toyota, Tesco Lotus, Wacoal, and Thanulux (the manufacturer of Arrow).”

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