Race and birth weight: the Chinese example.

In several studies a race-specific variation in birth weight was suggested between black infants and white infants. The following were compared: (1) the birth weight of Chinese infants born in mainland China, Taiwan, and the United States; and (2) the birth weight of Chinese infants and white infants born in the United States controlled for sociodemographic background. Similar birth weight distributions and incidence of low birth weight were found among Chinese infants born in the three areas with markedly different economic conditions. The women in all three areas appear to have met the basic health and nutritional needs for adequate fetal growth. Similar incidence of low birth weight with different birth weight distribution was found among infants born in the United States to two Chinese parents, to one Chinese parent and one white parent, and to two white parents. The variation in birth weight is greater for white infants than for Chinese infants and, consequently, more white infants had larger birth weight. The possibility of race-specific influences on birth weight distribution is suggested by these findings.