Do Tall People Make More Money?

The question, "Does size matter?" has now been answered by a new study in Australia - but it my not be what you think.

Tall people earn higher wages than their vertically-challenged colleagues, but being obese does not lead to a slimmer paycheck, according to a new study from the University of Sydney and Canberra's Australian National University.

Early Show co-anchors, Maggie Rodriguez, Harry Smith, Julie Chen, Early Show weather anchor, Dave Price, and Early Show news anchor, Russ Mitchell, had a chat about height and salaries in the workplace.

The study showed a greater link among men, with each additonal 10 centimeters (four inches) taller, adding three percent to hourly wages.

The "height premium" for women was two percent per 10 centimeters.

"So we're going to test the theory here this morning," said Rodriguez.

(Some graphics were shown to demonstrate what the researchers found. To view them, click on the video on the left.)

"I thought we were going to show Harry's pay stub," Chen. "Where's your pay stub?"

"First let's show this. Because if this is true, Harry, who is 6'2", makes, Dave, three percent more than you, who is 5-10," Rodriguez said.

"Actually it has more to do with the size of my brain," Smith joked.

"In your case, probably. And your experience," Rodriguez said.

"I'm looking for them to test people based on looks. That's what my big pay day is going to come!" Price joked.

"Are you sure about that?" Rodriguez asked.

"For women the same is true, Jules. I'm 5'2", so someone who is 5'9" would make two percent more," Rodriguez said. "You're 5'5". So you still make more than I do."

"Only if we lived in Australia though, right?" Chen asked.

"Exactly. But there is hope for short people like me. I have two words - Katie Couric," Rodriguez said. "She's 5'2" like me!"

"They didn't do this study at CBS, I'll tell you," Chen added.

"So there you go. And this is interesting, too. They found that it used to be that the heavier you were, the less money you made. But now there's no correlation between weight and salary. So it's evening out," Rodrigiez said.