Piling on the pounds is not only bad for health it can have a negative impact on earning power. Piling on the pounds is not only bad for health it can have a negative impact on earning power. Just a 10 percent increase in body mass index, a measure of weight relative to height, can cut a man's real earnings by 3.3 percent and a woman's by 1.8 percent, according to economists. Research from nine European countries shows the negative impact of weight on wages is stronger in the "oil belt" nations which include Spain, Greece, Italy and Portugal. But in the so-called "beer belt" countries of Austria, Ireland, Denmark, Belgium and Finland gaining weight does not have a significant effect on salary. "We find that BMI affects wages negatively in Europe, and that the size of this effect is larger for males than for females," said Giorgio Brunello, an economist at the University of Padova in Italy. But he does not know whether it is due to discrimination against the overweight and obese or to health problems or depression that may limit their productivity. BMI is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by height in meters squared. A BMI between 20-25 in normal, 25-30 is pre-obese and more than 30 is obese. Public health experts have warned that Europe is facing an obesity epidemic that will increase health costs and hamper economic development. Up to 23 percent of men and as many as 36 percent of women in Europe are obese. It is also a growing problem in children. Heavier European workers experience a wage penalty in the labor market, according to researchers . The researchers said their findings are in line with the results of a recent survey of Europeans that shows Southern Europeans place a higher concern on gaining weight. 點擊查看更多雙語新聞 (Reuters)

肥胖不僅對健康有害，可能還會對“掙錢能力”產生負面影響。 據經濟學家介紹，體重指數（測量體重與身高比例的指標）上升10%，男性的實際收入就會下降3.3%，女性則會下降1.8%。 這項在歐洲九個國家開展的調查表明，體重增加對于收入的消極影響在西班牙、希臘、意大利和葡萄牙等幾個"油帶"國家更為明顯。 但在澳大利亞、愛爾蘭、丹麥、比利時和芬蘭等所謂的“啤酒帶”國家，體重增加對于收入的影響并不是很顯著。 意大利帕多瓦大學的經濟學家吉奧喬·布魯尼羅說：“我們發現，在歐洲，體重指數的增長會對收入產生負面影響，而且這種影響對于男性更為明顯。” 但至于這究竟是因為人們歧視肥胖，還是因為肥胖所引起的健康問題和心情郁悶導致工作效率低下，目前還不清楚。 體重指數（BMI）的計算方法是用體重（公斤）除以身高（米）再進行平方。體重指數在20-25之間為“正常”，在25-30之間為“肥胖前期”，大于30則為“肥胖”。 公共健康專家發出警告，歐洲目前正面臨普遍肥胖的問題，這會導致健康成本增加，還會阻礙經濟發展。 歐洲高達23%的男性和36%的女性存在肥胖問題，而且，兒童肥胖問題也日趨嚴重。 據研究人員介紹，在歐洲的勞動力市場上，較胖員工的工資相對較低。 研究人員稱，他們的研究結果與最近在歐洲進行的一項調查結果一致，這項調查顯示，歐洲南部地區的人們對自己體重的增加更為關心。 （英語點津姍姍編輯）