indians and Chinese immigrants are among the healthiest people in the uk while those from Bangladesh and Pakistan are in the poorest of health. A report, The Health of Britain's Ethnic Minorities , brought out by the Policy Studies Institute and based on a survey of about 9,000 people belonging to various ethnic minorities, also revealed that Caribbeans were 30 per cent more likely to suffer from health problems than whites.

Pakistanis and Bangladeshis were five times more likely than whites to develop diabetes while Indians, Caribbeans and African-Asians were at three times more risk. However, whites were under greater risk of developing respiratory disorders than people of other communities. The low health standards of these communities were due to the cultural insensitivity of the health services, as also low living standards compounded by unemployment and bad housing, the report said. People from the minority communities were apparently receiving inferior quality health services contributing to a lower awareness of hygiene and medicine.