FIGURE 4.

Average birth weights of neonates categorized according to parental ethnicity. Compared with neonates of 2 European parents, those of 2 Indian parents had substantially lower birth weight. The weights of neonates of parents who differed in their ethnicity were intermediate. Indian mothers do not exert a fixed “constraint” on the fetal growth of their offspring; rather, European fathers can promote the growth of their offspring. Indian fathers contribute to the lower birth weights of their infants, shown by their restraining the growth of offspring of European mothers. Reproduced from reference 82 with permission. F, European father; f, Indian father; M, European mother; m, Indian mother.