Unattractive to Women? Fat Chance!

The paper says that those looking for a marriage partner think about physical and socioeconomic attractiveness. Chiappori and his co-authors Sonia Oreffice and Climent Quitana-Domeque, created a formula which says that for every 10% increase in a man's Body Mass Index, his salary must increase by 2% in order to continue dating in the same arena. However, women who weigh more by two BMI units compensate with a year of extra education, rather than money.

The paper is part of research being conducted independently on the subject of matching, Chiappori said. Since the 1980s, the "college premium," or return on investment for attending college, has doubled. However women are more willing to go to college for this reason than men, he said.

"When you go to college, you reap two benefits," Chiappori said. "You completely change your marital prospects and are more likely to be in a high-income family."