Body Weight and Matching With a Physically Attractive Romantic Partner

Carmalt, Julie H.; Cawley, John; Joyner, Kara; Sobal, Jeffery

doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2008.00566.x

Cited by 51 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Heavier women are found to be penalized in the labor market with lower wages, earnings and overall income, and the importance of female body size in the eye of men seems substantial (Averett and Korenman, 1996;Braun and Brian, 2006;Carmalt et al, 2008), so that women may not have the means to compensate for such a sizable defect, which is in line with our empirical evidence.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Fatter Attraction: Marital Status and the Relationship between BMI and Labor Supply

Oreffice¹,

Quintana‐Domeque²

2010

SSRN Journal

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SummaryWe empirically analyze the labor supply choices of married men and women according to their body size (BMI), using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics on anthropometric characteristics of both spouses, and unmarried men and women as comparison group. Heavier husbands are found to work significantly more hours and earn more labor income, controlling for both spouses' demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Conversely, no such effect is found for either unmarried individuals or for married women. We suggest a marriage market mechanism through which male BMI and earnings are positively related. Heavier married men compensate for their negative physical trait by providing their wives with more disposable income, working more hours and earning more. Heavier women may not able to compensate their spouse through labor supply, as female physical traits are more relevant in the marriage market than the corresponding male traits. Keywords AbstractWe empirically analyze the labor supply choices of married men and women according to their body size (BMI), using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics on anthropometric characteristics of both spouses, and unmarried men and women as comparison group. Heavier husbands are found to work significantly more hours and earn more labor income, controlling for both spouses' demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Conversely, no such effect is found for either unmarried individuals or for married women. We suggest a marriage market mechanism through which male BMI and earnings are positively related. Heavier married men compensate for their negative physical trait by providing their wives with more disposable income, working more hours and earning more. Heavier women may not able to compensate their spouse through labor supply, as female physical traits are more relevant in the marriage market than the corresponding male traits. JEL codes: D1, I1, J1, J22.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Fatter Attraction: Marital Status and the Relationship between BMI and Labor Supply

Oreffice¹,

Quintana‐Domeque²

2010

SSRN Journal

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“…As opposed to labor market discrimination, marital discrimination should theoretically lead to negative correlations between BMI and a spouse's income (or overall household income), but not necessarily personal income. This has been shown empirically in a number of studies (Burdett and Coles 2001;Carmalt et al 2008;McClintock 2014;Sassler and Joyner 2011;Stevens, Owens, and Schaefer 1990;Taylor and Glenn 1976;Udry 1977). The effects of both marital and labor market discrimination should be particularly pronounced in the highest income segments of contemporary humanity-those living in high-income countries, and high-wealth populations in middle-and even low-income countries-where increasing resources no longer bring appreciable increases in caloric consumption or related gains to body weight (Hruschka 2012;Hruschka, Hadley, and Brewis 2014).…”

Section: Anti-fat Discriminationmentioning

confidence: 94%

Deprivation or Discrimination? Comparing Theories of the Reverse Income-Obesity Gradient in the U.S. and South Korea

Han¹,

Hruschka²

2018

Preprint

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In high-income countries, poverty is often associated with higher average body mass index (BMI). To account for this reverse gradient, deprivation theories posit that declining economic resources make it more difficult to maintain a healthy weight. By contrast, discrimination theories argue that anti-fat discrimination in hiring and marriage sorts heavier individuals into lower-income households. We assess competing predictions of these theories by examining how household income in representative samples from South Korea (2007Korea ( -2014) and the U.S. (1999-2014, N=6,395) is related to BMI in two key contrasting groups: (1) currently married and (2) never married individuals. Naïve analyses that aggregate these two groups reveal the well-established reverse gradient. Stratified analyses, on the other hand, reveal that the gradient only appears among currently married women, but not never-married women or men.Further analyses indicated that these differences in the gradient by marital status cannot be accounted for a number of alternative hypothesis based on differential employment or motivation to lose weight. Though consistent with predictions of anti-fat discrimination in marriage, these findings raise important challenges to deprivation theories of the reverse gradient.

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“…Goldman 1993;unger 2008). 3 Während die Bedeutung der Gesundheitsselektion auf dem Partnermarkt kontrovers diskutiert wird (auch im Hinblick darauf, dass die Auswirkungen des Gesundheitsverhaltens auf die Gesundheit im jüngeren Erwachsenenalter, auf das die Wahl des Lebenspartners konzentriert ist, noch kaum sichtbar sind), ist die Selektion nach physischer Attraktivität empirisch gut abgesichert (Carmalt et al 2008;Kurzban und Weeden 2005;Sobal 1999). Verschiedene Studien belegen zudem, dass physische Attraktivität für Frauen auf dem Partnermarkt größere Bedeutung hat als für Männer (Averett und Korenman 1996;Carmalt et al 2008;Conley und Glauber 2005;Elder 1969;Hasenkamp et al 2005).…”

Section: Selektionunclassified

„Durch Dick und Dünn.“ Zum Einfluss von Partnerschaft und Partnermarkt auf das Körpergewicht

Klein

2011

Köln Z Soziol

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Zusammenfassung: Der Beitrag untersucht die Einflüsse einer Partnerschaft und des Partnermarkts auf das Körpergewicht. Datengrundlage ist der Partnermarktsurvey 2009, eine für Deutschland repräsentative Befragung der 16- bis 55-jährigen Bevölkerung, mit der erstmals die Partnermarktopportunitäten und -restriktionen, an denen sich die Motivation zur Gewichtskontrolle orientiert, unter Bezug auf die soziale Einbindung der Individuen erhoben wurden. Die Ergebnisse bestätigen sowohl eine negative Protektion, wonach eine Partnerschaft mit einer Zunahme des Körpergewichts einhergeht, als auch eine Selektion auf dem Partnermarkt, wonach niedrigeres Gewicht die Chancen verbessert, einen Partner zu finden. Eine neue Erkenntnis ist allerdings, dass der Gewichtsunterschied zwischen Personen mit und ohne Partner je nach der Konkurrenz auf dem Partnermarkt variiert: Je größer der Konkurrenzdruck auf dem Partnermarkt, umso stärker fällt der Gewichtsunterschied zugunsten der Partnerlosen aus. Eine weitere neue Erkenntnis ist, dass die BMI-Ähnlichkeit von Partnern nur auf der Partnerwahl beruht, nicht auf Anpassungsprozessen während der Partnerschaft. Da keine Anpassung des BMI an den des speziellen Partners stattfindet, hat die Partnerwahl keinen Einfluss auf das Körpergewicht.Abstract: This article analyzes how body weight is associated with the existence of an intimate partner and with the sex ratio in the marriage market. The data rely on a representative sample of the 16-55 years old population in Germany, carried out in 2009 (Partner Market Survey 2009). In this data set, individuals' mating opportunities for the first time are measured by their integra-

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Body Weight and Matching With a Physically Attractive Romantic Partner

Cited by 51 publications

References 32 publications

Fatter Attraction: Marital Status and the Relationship between BMI and Labor Supply

Fatter Attraction: Marital Status and the Relationship between BMI and Labor Supply

Deprivation or Discrimination? Comparing Theories of the Reverse Income-Obesity Gradient in the U.S. and South Korea

„Durch Dick und Dünn.“ Zum Einfluss von Partnerschaft und Partnermarkt auf das Körpergewicht

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