TikTok trend Pretty Privilege
According to the study, slim women earn better
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According to the TikTok trend Pretty Privilege, physically attractive people have it easier in life. Weight also plays a role – one study even shows that women with a lower BMI often earn more than women with an average or higher BMI.
Ever heard of the so-called Pretty Privilege? This is a trend that is currently getting a lot of attention on TikTok. The steep thesis behind it: Those who are considered particularly attractive according to social norms generally have it easier in life. Whether in love or at work, we get far with beauty. Scientific studies have meanwhile also been able to prove this effect.
A low BMI improves women’s earnings
When talking about outer beauty, one can hardly avoid talking about body weight. And here, too, a clear picture emerges. One study came to the conclusion in 2014 that the salary can fluctuate by up to twelve percent depending on the body mass index (BMI). Women benefit from being slimmer: With a BMI of up to 21.5, women earned the most in a classic salaried job – from a BMI of over 21.5, the salary curve fell significantly. The effect also affected normal-weight women with a BMI of up to 25.
“Our results indicate that women are discriminated against based on their appearance, expressed through lower pay,” study authors Marco Caliendo and Markus Gehrsitz said at the time. The two economists and their teams from the University of Potsdam and the City University of New York had the Dataof 8,770 men and 9,229 women evaluated.
Do you prefer fat men at work?
Interesting: In men it seems to be the other way around. Men in employment earned comparatively better with a BMI between 23 and well into the overweight range. According to the study, underweight men receive about seven to eight percent less wages, especially in areas that involve heavy physical work. “In such jobs, a low BMI seems to indicate a lack of physical strength, which leads to poorer pay,” Caliendo and Gehrsitz concluded.
Please no crash diets!
The study results are bitter – but panicking and putting down the chocolate bar and sticking to a strict diet from now on is definitely not the solution. Quite apart from the fact that your salary should not be based on your looks, but on your performance (by the way, we give tips on salary negotiation here), the pretty privilege effect is generally just bad. But we mustn’t let that drive us crazy! If you have a desire to work on your weight, then do it should be the reason you want to get healthier and feel good.
Helpful tips for losing weight
As already mentioned: A diet rarely helps to change one’s diet permanently and is often accompanied by the dreaded yo-yo effect. One is better long-term dietary changes – these tips will help you:
1. Take your time
It is often better than a radical complete change in diet overnight gradually changing habits. For example, starting today, skip the sugary soda with your meal and drink water instead. After three days you save the dessert after lunch, after five you increase the portion of vegetables on the plate and so on.
2. Go for whole grains
Whole grain products not only contain many healthy ones fiber, they also keep you full longer than the white flour alternative. For example, wholemeal toast is better on the menu in the morning than white flour toast. And oatmeal fills you up better in the evening than cornflakes.
3. Protein for the muscles
Pasta, rice and co. need not be demonized as suppliers of carbohydrates – but it makes sense to make sure that you are consuming enough protein. Protein takes care of that long-lasting satiety and is also the food for your muscles to grow and burn more fat in the long run. So make sure you eat lots of protein foods like eggs, lean meat, and low-fat dairy products.
You can get even more help in our weight loss tips.
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