Piling on
the pounds is not only bad for health it can have a
negative impact on earning power.
Just a 10 percent increase in body mass index, a measure of weight
relative to height, can cut a man's real earnings by 3.3 percent and a
woman's by 1.8 percent, according to economists.
Research from nine European countries shows the negative impact of
weight on wages is stronger in the "oil belt" nations which include Spain,
Greece, Italy and Portugal.
But in the so-called "beer belt" countries of Austria, Ireland,
Denmark, Belgium and Finland gaining weight does not have a significant
effect on salary.
"We find that BMI affects wages negatively in Europe, and that the size
of this effect is larger for males than for females," said Giorgio
Brunello, an economist at the University of Padova in Italy.
But he does not know whether it is due to discrimination against the
overweight and obese or to health problems or depression that may limit
their productivity.
BMI is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by height in meters
squared. A BMI between 20-25 in normal, 25-30 is pre-obese and more than
30 is obese.
Public health experts have warned that Europe is facing an obesity
epidemic that will increase health costs and hamper economic development.
Up to 23 percent of men and as many as 36 percent of women in Europe
are obese. It is also a growing problem in children.
Heavier European workers experience a wage penalty in the labor market,
according to researchers .
The researchers said their findings are in line with the results of a
recent survey of Europeans that shows Southern Europeans place a higher
concern on gaining weight.
