Watch your weight...and height too!

"You are fair, well built and weigh 62 kgs. Your monthly income is not satisfactory, but don't worry, the situation will improve in the next six months."

These lines were particularly intriguing for me. The reasons: Firstly, they were uttered by a weighing machine at Juhu Beach (Mumbai), which by the look of it did not seem to posses any AI. And secondly, the sheer assertion with which these came out had the spectators (including me) all ears.

However, it was a little too difficult for me to digest. How could a weighing machine possibly predict the salary and the future earnings of a person with such oozing confidence? The thought refused to get out of my mind.

And now that I am back, I decided to look this up on the internet. The search was definitely worth it.

It was easy to understand the direct connection between the two. Income inequality leads to less spending on nutritional food items and therefore a loss in health and probably weight too.

But interestingly, it was the indirect link that caught the eye. How does weight affect the earning of an individual?

Some studies in the US throw light on this issue. One of them presented at the National Summit on America's Children says, "Weighing less than 5.5 pounds at birth increases the probability of dropping out of high school by one-third, and reduces yearly earnings by about 15 percent."

As per another study by Dept. of Sociology, University of Southern California, weight plays a crucial role in deciding the income at entry level professional/ managerial occupations. In addition, women who are at or below their desirable weight tend to higher incomes and occupational positions than women who are overweight.

Surprisingly, the connection gets even more diverse to include height also. According to a study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology (Vol. 89, No. 3) every inch (in terms of height) counts at the workplace. It says that each inch that a person is above the average height may fetch some $789 more per year.

Well, now the weighing machine story seems to be a bit logical. In the meantime I am on the lookout for a height measuring machine with similar powers. Let's see if I can find one.