Obesity pay gap revealed: Fat women in white collar jobs earn 19% less than their slim peers while for men it’s 14%

Obese people in white collar jobs earn significantly less than their slimmer counterparts, figures show.

An analysis of US Bureau of Labor Statistics found that men with a college degree and a BMI over 30 earned five percent less than their peers with a healthy weight.

The difference was even greater among women, with obese and higher educated women making 12 percent less than their slim colleagues.

The research accounted for race, age and marital status – which can all influence how much money someone makes – and the disparity 

The finding suggests that a ‘fat prejudice’ exists in corporate America, leading obese people to miss out on billions of dollars in earnings. 

But the analysis found the opposite was true for blue collar jobs, where obese employees were better paid than their slimmer colleagues.

When researchers compared men with bachelor’s degrees, they found those classified as obese made five percent less than their non-obese colleagues

In the analysis carried out by The Economist, researchers analyzed data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics of 23,000 men and women between the ages of 25 and 54 who work full time.

In addition to looking at men with bachelor’s degrees, they compared men who had more advanced degrees. 

When researchers compared men with graduate degrees, those who were obese earned 14 percent less.

Women face a similar fate, but the margins were larger. Obese women with bachelor’s degrees earned 12 percent less than counterparts and those with graduate degrees earned 19 percent less.  

The career a person has chosen makes a difference, with varying pay gaps between obese workers and those with normal BMIs in different industries. 

Obese workers in healthcare can expect to earn 11 percent less than slimmer colleagues and obese employees in management roles earn nine percent less.

However, the opposite is true for workers in construction and agriculture, which see obese workers making more than people with normal BMIs.  

Nearly 42 percent of adults in the US are considered obese — having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or above, or the rough equivalent of someone who is 5’9” weighing 203 or more lbs. 

This means millions of Americans are potentially losing out on tens of thousands of dollars.

The Economist determined that, among discrimination of both women and men with obese BMIs, they could lose out on up to $70billion per year. 

Previous studies show similar results. 

A study from 2019 found BMI was associated with chronic job discrimination, with study subjects classified as obese and morbidly obese reporting higher job discrimination compared to subjects with normal BMIs. 

A separate 2018 meta analysis of 21 studies found a reverse causal relationship between obesity and income, revealing lower income is associated with subsequent obesity. 

Because of the growing body of evidence pointing to weight-based job discrimination, a number of state and local leaders are considering laws prohibiting employment discrimination based on weight, including Massachusetts, New Jersey and Vermont.

New York City’s mayor signed legislation in May barring discrimination against someone based on height or weight.

Additionally, San Francisco and Washington, DC ban discrimination based on appearance. 

However, as part of the study, researchers at The Economist analyzed the wage gap between obese and normal-BMI workers just in Michigan, where a similar ban has been in place for nearly half a century. 

Despite that legislation, they found the obesity wage penalty was no lower than for America as a whole.  

While these studies relied on a person’s BMI to determine obesity, the American Medical Association voted in June to move away from using the measurement to assess weight and overall health, saying it is ‘an imperfect way to measure fat in multiple groups given that it does not account for differences across race/ethnic groups, sexes, genders and age-span.’

The AMA instead proposed educating doctors on the issues with BMI and using alternative measures for diagnosing obesity.