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Birth weight is the body weight of a baby at its birth. The average birth weight in babies of European descent is 3.5 kilograms , with the normative range between 2.5 and 4.5 kilograms. On average, babies of South Asian and Chinese descent weigh about 3.26 kilograms.As far as low birth weight prevalence rates changing over time, there has been a slight decrease from 7.9% to 6.8% , then a slight increase to 8.3% , to the current levels of 8.2%. The prevalence of low birth weights has trended slightly upward from 2012 to the present.
There have been numerous studies that have attempted, with varying degrees of success, to show links between birth weight and later-life conditions, including diabetes, obesity, tobacco smoking, and intelligence. Low birth weight is associated with neonatal infection and infant mortality.