The indicator is expressed as the number of children per 1000 live births whose birth weight is equal or greater than 2500 grams. Birth weight can be an important indicator of community nutrition. Low birth weights signal insufficient access to adequate food supply. It may also be related to certain diseases such as malaria, and to specific nutritional deficiencies such as endemic goitre. Linkages to other health and socioeconomic indicators are also pertinent.
National standards are also significant and relevant to countries and sub-national areas.
WHO's Global Strategy for Health for All by the Year 2000 is an international agreement relevant to this indicator. The denominator is the total number of live born babies weighed. This percentage is then subtracted from 100 to give the percentage of newborns weighing at least 2500 grams. This proxy measure may be considered as a State indicator of human health and nutrition. This would apply, for example, where coverage of supervised births by trained personnel is low.