Obesity Linked to Lower Paychecks

Obese Americans have smaller paychecks than those who aren’t overweight, and this difference is especially strong among women, a new study finds. The analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth revealed that in 2004, overall average annual incomes were $8,666 less for obese women and $4,772 less for obese men compared with normal weight workers. In 2008, obese women made an average of $5,826 (15%) less than normal-weight females, the George Washington University researchers said. In 2010, the average annual costs of being obese were $4,879 for a woman and $2,646 for a man. Those figures include indirect costs such as lost productivity and direct expenses such as medical care. George Washington University, Dec 2011