Skinny Women Make More Money, Report Finds

For women constantly battling to drop a few pounds, a new study could be hard to swallow.

From TIME:

According to a study in the Journal of Applied Psychology, women who are "very thin" earn nearly $22,000 more than their "average weight counterparts." The study was conducted by Timothy A. Judge from the University of Florida and Daniel M. Cable, from the London Business School, who examined the relationship between income and weight in men and women.

The study, which included 23,939 participants, also finds that, while women are financially punished for any weight gain, very thin women receive the most significant drop in pay for the first few pounds of weight they put on. For American women who were below average weight, gaining 25 pounds produced an average salary decrease of $15,500.

Once women reach an average weight, the report finds, further weight gain is penalized less, "presumably because the social preferences for a feminine body have already been violated."

Very thin men actually receive less than their average weight counterparts. They are rewarded for weight gain until they become obese, the study finds.