In the Global North, low birth-weight babies are usually premature babies. In the Global South, low birth-weigh babies are usually 'full-term' babies; their birth-weight is low due to malnourishment in the womb as a result of the mother being malnourished during her pregnancy.
One of the most important facts about infant deaths is that the 10-15% of babies who are born with low birth-weights (below 2,500 grams) account for between 30% and 40% of all deaths in the first year of life. In other words, low birth-weight babies are approximately three times more likely to die in infancy. Among those who survive, low birth-weight has also been shown to be associated with longer and more frequent illnesses and with mental and physical impairments.
Doctors from Boston University School of Medicine analyzed data on the birth weights of 2,555 adults. Compared with those who were larger at birth, people who weighed less than two and a half kilograms at birth were two and half times more likely to develop heart disease and one and a half times more likely to get diabetes. ,