Shorter men and overweight women are paid less, says UK study
Height and weight play an important role in determiningpayandsocioeconomic status, with shorter men and overweight women facing particular disadvantages, according to a new study.
The study, published by theBMJ, reports that one standard deviation inbody mass index(BMI) is associated with alower annual household incomeof £1,890 for women and £210 for men.
Meanwhile, beingtallerby one standard deviation (equating to 6.3 centimetres) was associated withhigher annual household incomeof £1,130, and 1.12 times higher odds of working in askilled profession. These associations were stronger for men.
The authors of the study conclude that: “These findings have importantsocial and health implications, supporting evidence thatoverweight people, especially women, are at a disadvantage and thattaller people, especially men, are at an advantage.”
The study distinguished between height and weight differences caused bygeneticandenvironmentalfactors. AuthorTimothy Fraylingof the University of Exeter commented that: “The data shows that there is acausal effectfrom being genetically a bit shorter or fatter that leads you to being worse off in life. Previously we didn’t know that.”
Around120,000men and women of British heritage aged 37–73 participated in the study.
Susan Averetthas written for IZA World of Labor about obesity and labor market outcomes. She notes that “There is growing evidence that obese people receivelower wagesand areless likely to be employedthan non-obese people, and that these adverse outcomes are caused by obesity,” and argues: “Governments and employers have a compelling interest in finding ways toreduce obesity levelsanddiscriminationagainst obese workers.”
Elsewhere,Eva Sierminskahas written for us about howphysical attractiveness can affect earnings. She argues that: ”Society should recognize and observe the relevance of abeauty premium. A need for interventions depends onlegal considerationsand whether such a premium reflectsdiscriminationorproductivity.”
Finally, in her IZA World of Labor articleSoohyung李asks whetherinvestment in beautytranslates to better pay and job prospects. She concludes that: “For the average person, the monetary benefits ofplastic surgery, medical treatments toincrease height, andexpensive clothingarenot worth the cost.”
The BMJ study can be foundhere.
Related articles:
Obesity and labor market outcomesbySusan L. Averett
Does it pay to be beautiful?byEva Sierminska
Beauty pays but does investment in beauty?bySoohyung李
Find more IZA World of Labor articles aboutdemographyandhealth