Short men and obese women earn $1,000 less a year than taller, thinner people, study warns

Short men and obese women earn up to $1,000 (£700) less per year than their taller, skinnier counterparts, according to a new study into body shape and salary. This is evidence of a long suspected'beauty premium' that suggests physical attractiveness demands a higher value in the labour market, according to lead author Suyong Song from the University of Iowa. Researchers examined data from 2,383 volunteers, including whole body scans and information on their family income and gender. They found that in men earning over $70,000 (£50,000) per year, a centimetre increase in height was worth $1,000 (£700) extra in income per year. For women earning the same amount, every single point decrease in BMI was worth an extra $1,000 (£700) per year in their pay cheque, the researchers discovered.