By Kelly Lessard

This study explores the relationship between body mass and job quality in the United States labor force using five variables to represent job quality: hourly wage, training in the past year, desire for training, expectations for success, and job satisfaction. I use the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 data from 1994 to calculate BMI and assess the job quality indicators. Like past research, I find BMI is negatively associated with wages for the obese population, most significantly for women. Women also suffer a greater body mass penalty for job training and demonstrate lower job satisfaction at a higher BMI.

View Thesis

View Data

Advisor: Alison Hagy, Tracy Falba |  JEL Codes: J7, J31, J71 | Tagged: BMI, Job Quality, Labor Productivity, Obesity