Misery may love company but fatties apparently do not. A study from the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that as the percentage of white females (and only this group, not any other) who are overweight and obsese increases in the population, they face greater wage discrimination.

From The Atlantic:

  • In 1981, a woman in the 75th percentile on the Body Mass Index (roughly 165 pounds for a 5-foot-4-inch woman) could expect wages 4.29 percent lower than those of her svelter colleague in the 25th percentile (roughly 120 pounds).
  • In 2000, the same hypothetical woman’s wage penalty for her avoirdupois had risen to 7.47 percent.

The authors of the study conclude:

…the increasing rarity of thinness has led to its rising premium.

stainless steel potsSo I guess if you’re thin, consider yourself a rare gem. Me? I’m more like stainless steel.