摘要：Objectives. We examined the association of relative weight with individual income at different levels of socioeconomic status among gainfully employed Finnish women and men. Methods. We used a population-based survey including 2068 women and 2314 men with linked income data from a taxation register. Regression analysis was used to calculate mean income levels within educational and occupational groups. Results. Compared with their normal-weight counterparts, obese women with higher education or in upper white-collar positions had significantly lower income; a smaller income disadvantage was seen in overweight women with secondary education and in manual workers. Excess body weight was not associated with income disadvantages in men. Conclusions. Obesity is associated with a clear income disadvantage, particularly among women with higher socioeconomic status. Obesity is negatively valued in modern societies, and excess weight may have deleterious effects on employment opportunities, 1– 4 income level, 3, 5– 7 and social or public relationships in general. 8, 9 Indeed, an inverse relation between weight and socioeconomic status exists in affluent societies, especially in women. 10 Most studies on obesity and social status have used only limited measures of socioeconomic position, such as occupational status, self-reported income, or educational attainment, usually 1 measure at a time. 10 In addition, studies reporting reduced income levels as a result of deviant body weight are so far confined to young overweight women. 5– 7 Moreover, these studies use self-reported income data, and education or occupation have been used as controlled background variables only. Self-reported income is subject to nonresponse and reporting bias, and this type of approach cannot be used to analyze potentially interesting topics such as subtle weight-related income differences within occupational or educational groups. Some studies suggest that professionals and higher-status people, especially women, have stronger pressures to stay slim, 11, 12 and there is some evidence that obesity may be associated with lower income within occupational groups. 3, 13 However, this issue has not been studied at the population level with reliable data about individual incomes of women and men. Therefore, we examined how body weight is associated with individual income within educational attainment groups and occupational classes among gainfully employed Finnish women and men. Because obesity is less common but potentially more stigmatizing among those with higher socioeconomic status, especially women, we hypothesized that obese higher-status women might suffer from a particular income disadvantage in their jobs.
