According to a study in the British Medical Journal, if you’re a certain height or weight, you may have “reduced chances in life” in relation to income, education and job prospects.
Scroll down for video
In the study, 120,000 Brits were analysed by University of Exeter researchers on how genetic variants of height and BMI affected annual household income, job class and levels of education.
As reported in The Guardian, men who were 18cm shorter than others of the same background and intellect earned $2,767 less per year. The same goes for women weighing 12.6kg more than their counterparts – they take home $5,667 less.
Short men aren’t as likely to get a job in a skilled or professional industry, but heavier men seem to fare the same as their thinner colleagues.
The BMJ concluded that the evidence shows that “overweight people, especially women, are at a disadvantage and that taller people, especially men, are at an advantage.”
Professor Tim Frayling told The Telegraph: “Although we knew there was a strong association, most people assumed that shorter height and higher BMI were a consequence of poorer nutrition and chances in life.”
“Now we have shown that there is an effect in the other direction as well – shorter height and higher BMI can actually lead to lower income and other lifestyle measures. There is something about being a bit shorter or heavier that can actually influence your chance in life.”
The study hasn’t uncovered the reasoning behind these results, but speculate that overweight women and shorter men are more likely to suffer from low-esteem or depression than those taller and slimmer.
It could otherwise be that employers would rather hire taller men, as studies have shown that those in business and political roles are taller than the average man.
So we guess it’s true, size really does matter.
See the results of the study below
