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Second generation South Asian babies born in UK still below average weight

August 12, 2002

Second generation babies born to South Asian families in the UK are still well below national average weight, finds research in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. There has been no increase in average birthweight among this group in 40 years, shows the research.

The birth records for all full term babies born to women of South Asian origin in Southampton between 1957 and 1996 were checked. Detailed analysis was carried out on babies born to women from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh who had either been born in their country of origin (1,435) or in the UK (283).

First generation babies weighed an average of 3,133 g, and 7.5 per cent weighed less than 2,500 g at birth, defined as "low birthweight." But second generation babies were no bigger, weighing in at an average of 3046 g at birth; just under 12 per cent fell into the low birthweight category. These figures are well below the national average.

Adjusting for other factors likely to influence birthweight, such as length of pregnancy, mother's age, and weight, and birth order, had no impact on the results. And there is no reason to suspect that Southampton would be different from any other region in the UK, say the authors.

There is no obvious biological reason why babies born to mothers of South Asian origin should be smaller than babies born to white British mothers, they say. Usually, such differences are ironed out with the passage of time, as nutrition and lifestyle factors improve. Low birthweight babies carry a higher risk of heart disease and diabetes in adult life, rates of which are high among people from the Indian subcontinent in the UK.

British Medical Journal (BMJ)