Abstract
Using pooled data from ten waves of the Health Survey of England (HSE) and a semi-parametric regression model, this paper aims to shed some light on the relationship between body weight, BMI and labor market outcomes. Similar to recent literature we find consistent evidence that such a relationship is best represented by a General Additive Model (GAM) rather than by a linear or quadratic specification. Men and women's employment probabilities do not follow a linear relationship and are highest at a body weight way over the clinical threshold for (i.e. BMI close to 30 for men and between 25-30 for women). Instead of an obesity penalty we find evidence of an overweight premium in socially active jobs which is consistent with the notion of an endogenous social norm governing standards of body weight.
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