Birth weights of infants of first generation Asian women in Britain compared with second generation Asian women

Dhawan S

1995

UK

The subjects of this study are 331 Asian women who gave birth between January 1989 and December 1989 in the same hospital. 220 of these women were first generation Asians and 111 were second generation Asians. The mean birth weight for babies of second generation was 249 grams more than the mean birth weight of the babies of first generation women.

The result of such a study tend to minimise the influence of genetic factors in fetal growth. This must be taken into account when interpreting the results of the many studies exploring correlations between adult diseases and birth weight.