Just about everyone recognizes the health risks of weighing too much, but few people are aware that there are risks of weighing too little at birth.

I?m not talking about infants whose weight is low because they are born prematurely. Rather, problems occur in newborns who weigh less than they should based on the time from conception to birth, referred to as the gestational age of the newborn.

Studies done more than 20 years ago showed that newborns whose weight is low for gestational age are at increased risk as adults for the development of high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol levels, diabetes, and premature coronary artery disease. The startling new finding from a large population study in Sweden is that both parents of these low-birth-weight babies, but especially their mothers, are at greater risk for premature death, particularly from cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Of course, nothing can change the fact that a child was born weighing too little. But these children and their parents should take special care to avoid smoking and to control their cholesterol, blood pressure, and weight.