August 17, 2002	Saturday	Jamadi-us-Saani 7, 1423

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LONDON, Aug 16: The weight of babies born into families of Pakistani and other South Asian communities living in Britain today is no greater than that of the first generation babies, whose mothers were not born in this country, according to a survey by British scientists of Southampton University.

The results of the statistics have raised fears for the health of Pakistani and other south Asian communities of the United Kingdom.

Earlier surveys revealed that the people of Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi origins were more prone to heart diseases and diabetes than the general population of Britain. This tendency was attributed to their condition at birth.

The British scientists hoped that it might change as increasing numbers of children were born in the UK rather than in Pakistan or other South Asian countries.

The new research has cast doubts on the optimism that the prevalence of the diseases mi-ght decline because of better nutrition and fewer infec-tions than in their countries of origin.

The researchers say that there is no reason to suspect that any biological factor as to why babies born to mothers of Asian origin should be smaller than those born to white British women.

Based on our findings, the predicted decline in diabetes between the first and the second generation immigrants, based on improved early nutrition and environment, may not materialize because in fact the environment has not improved, or at least has not affected foetal growth.

“Our data would suggest it would not be appropriate to adopt a complacent approach that assumes simply the problem will resolve itself as social circumstances improve,” the scientists say.