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“Do I look fat?” Self-perceived body weight and labor market outcomes

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  • Smith, Patricia K.
  • Zagorsky, Jay L.

Abstract

Research reporting that greater body weight is associated with lower wages and employment, particularly among women, focuses on how employers perceive workers. In contrast, we examine whether workers’ own perceptions of body weight influence labor market outcomes. Numerous studies find that misperception of body weight influences health behaviors and health, both mental and physical. For example, anorexia nervosa involves the over-perception of weight and raises the risk of cardiovascular disease. Do the health consequences of inaccurate self-perceived weight carry through to the labor market? We use the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97) to investigate patterns in weight misperception and three labor market outcomes. We find little evidence that either over-perception or under-perception of weight is associated with wages, weeks worked, or the number of jobs held for women and men.

Suggested Citation

  • Smith, Patricia K. & Zagorsky, Jay L., 2018. "“Do I look fat?” Self-perceived body weight and labor market outcomes," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 48-58.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:30:y:2018:i:c:p:48-58
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2018.05.002
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    1. Dilmaghani, Maryam, 2020. "Beauty perks: Physical appearance, earnings, and fringe benefits," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    BMI; Weight misperception; Wages; Employment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J30 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - General
    • J70 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - General
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior

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