Tall, fat men earn more than their shorter, slimmer counterparts

MELBOURNE - Being tall can really have its advantages, for a new study has found that the taller you are, the more you earn.

What’s more, overweight people earn more than their skinny workmates, the study found.

Australian researchers have found that a man who is six foot can expect to take home a “wage premium” of almost 1000 dollars a year.

Researcher Andrew Leigh, an economist at the Australian National University, said the reason behind tall men’s pay perk was that they were more capable at some physical tasks, such as reaching the top shelf.

“Beyond that is basically discrimination,” the Australian quoted Leigh as telling AAP.

“We tend to think that tall people are more powerful and smarter, even when they’re not necessarily,” he added.

Leigh, who stands at 180.34 centimetres, said it was unfortunate that society was biased towards taller people.

For the study, Leigh crunched the numbers on the height, weight and pay of thousands of people around the country.

He found than an extra 10cm in height meant 3 per cent higher wages for men, and 2 per cent higher wages for women.

However, it was a different story when it came to weight. Fat men earn 5 per cent more than their trimmer colleagues. And thin women don’t earn higher wages.

Leigh said it was possible that being overweight had become so common that it was no longer a problem for workers. (ANI)