No buzz for bees: Media coverage of pollinator decline.

Although widespread declines in insect biomass and diversity are increasing concerns within the scientific community, it remains unclear whether attention to pollinator declines has also increased within information sources serving the general public. Examining patterns of journalistic attention to the pollinator population crisis can also inform efforts to raise awareness about the importance of declines of insect species providing ecosystem services beyond pollination. We used the Global News Index developed by the Cline Center for Advanced Social Research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to track news attention to pollinator topics in nearly 25 million news items published by two American national newspapers and four international wire services over the past four decades. We found vanishingly low levels of attention to pollinator population topics relative to coverage of climate change, which we use as a comparison topic. In the most recent subset of ∼10 million stories published from 2007 to 2019, 1.39% (137,086 stories) refer to climate change/global warming while only 0.02% (1,780) refer to pollinator populations in all contexts, and just 0.007% (679) refer to pollinator declines. Substantial increases in news attention were detectable only in US national newspapers. We also find that, while climate change stories appear primarily in newspaper "front sections," pollinator population stories remain largely marginalized in "science" and "back section" reports. At the same time, news reports about pollinator populations increasingly link the issue to climate change, which might ultimately help raise public awareness to effect needed policy changes.

Smoking and intention to quit among a large sample of black sexual and gender minorities.

The purpose of this study is to more completely quantify smoking and intention to quit from a sample of sexual and gender minority (SGM) Black individuals (N = 639) through analysis of data collected at Pride festivals and online. Frequencies described demographic characteristics; chi-square analyses were used to compare tobacco-related variables. Black SGM smokers were more likely to be trying to quit smoking than White SGM smokers. However, Black SGM individuals were less likely than White SGM individuals to become former smokers. The results of this study indicate that smoking behaviors may be heavily influenced by race after accounting for SGM status.

Smoking initiation, tobacco product use, and secondhand smoke exposure among general population and sexual minority youth, Missouri, 2011-2012.

INTRODUCTION: Research indicates disparities in risky health behaviors between heterosexual and sexual minority (referred to as LGBQ; also known as lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and questioning) youth. Limited data are available for tobacco-use-related behaviors beyond smoking status. We compared data on tobacco age of initiation, product use, and secondhand smoke exposure between general population and LGBQ youth. METHODS: Data for general population youth were from the statewide, representative 2011 Missouri Youth Tobacco Survey, and data for LGBQ youth were from the 2012 Out, Proud and Healthy survey (collected at Missouri Pride Festivals). Age-adjusted Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel tests were used to examine differences between general population (N = 1,547) and LGBQ (N = 410) youth, aged 14 to 18 years. Logistic regression models identified variables associated with current smoking. RESULTS: The 2 groups differed significantly on many tobacco-use-related factors. General population youth initiated smoking at a younger age, and LGBQ youth did not catch up in smoking initiation until age 15 or 16. LGBQ youth (41.0%) soon surpassed general population youth (11.2%) in initiation and proportion of current smokers. LGBQ youth were more likely to use cigars/cigarillos, be poly-tobacco users, and be exposed to secondhand smoke (SHS) in a vehicle (for never smokers). Older age (odds ratio [OR] = 1.39, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 1.18-1.62), female sex (OR = 1.64, 95% CI = 1.13-2.37), LGBQ identity (OR = 3.86, 95% CI = 2.50-5.94), other tobacco product use (OR = 8.67, 95% CI = 6.01-12.51), and SHS exposure in a vehicle (OR = 5.97, 95% CI = 3.83-9.31) all significantly increased the odds of being a current smoker. CONCLUSION: This study highlights a need for the collection of data on sexual orientation on youth tobacco surveys to address health disparities among LGBQ youth.

Sufficiently and insufficiently active lesbian, bisexual, and questioning female college students: sociodemographic factors among two age cohorts.

BACKGROUND: As rates of inactivity in the United States increase, the proportion of adults who are overweight in the United States continues to grow with concurrent increases in risk of weight-related morbidity and mortality. Sparse data are available on physical activity and weight in college-age sexual minority females, and none examine this relationship by age. To address this gap, we examined two age cohorts of female college students who self-identified as lesbian, bisexual, and questioning (LBQ), to 1) explore the relationship between physical activity, weight, and sociodemographic factors and 2) identify characteristics associated with sufficient physical activity in college females. METHODS: Data were from the 2010 American College Health Association National College Health Assessment survey. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were used to describe LBQ college women by age cohort (≤23 years, typical age vs. ≥24 years, mature age) and physical activity level (sufficiently active vs. insufficiently active). Odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals from logistic regression were used to estimate the likelihood of meeting the physical activity guidelines. FINDINGS: Only one out of three LBQ college women report meeting the national physical activity guidelines. Characteristics of typical age and mature age LBQ college women varied by physical activity level. In a logistic regression model of LBQ college women, two characteristics increased the likelihood of being sufficiently activity: Reporting very good/excellent health and self-describing as "about the right weight." Three characteristics decreased the likelihood: Self-describing as "very overweight," reporting action taken toward weight as "do nothing," and current smoking. CONCLUSIONS: With only one out of three LBQ college women meeting the national physical activity guidelines, interventions to increase physical activity, improve fitness, and potentially reduce unhealthy weight gain must start early to prevent the morbidity and mortality associated with inactivity.

Disparate Perceptions of Weight Between Sexual Minority and Heterosexual Female College Students.

PURPOSE: To compare body mass index (BMI; calculated from self-reported height and weight) and self-described weight status between heterosexual and lesbian, bisexual, questioning (LBQ) female college students and identify factors associated with overweight/obesity. METHODS: Participants included females (n=18,440) from the National College Health Assessment survey. Mean BMI, t-tests of weight status, and chi-square tests of characteristics between LBQ and heterosexual females were calculated. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals from logistic regression models were used to estimate the likelihood of self-described "slightly overweight" status, self-described "very overweight" status, BMI 25.0-29.9 lb/in(2) (overweight), and BMI ≥30.0 lb/in(2) (obese) for female college students. RESULTS: LBQ females were significantly heavier than heterosexual females overall and for each additional year in school. Covariates that increased the odds of all four dependent variables (self-described "slightly" and "very" overweight status, overweight BMI, and obese BMI) included good/fair health (vs. excellent/very good health), trying to lose weight (vs. staying the same), and older age. LBQ status (vs. heterosexual) was also associated with the dependent variables "very overweight" status and obese BMI; however, LBQ status was not associated with self-described "slightly overweight" status or overweight BMI. Female college students who had an obese BMI, self-described as "slightly" or "very" overweight, were significantly less likely to meet the physical activity guidelines (vs. meeting the guidelines). CONCLUSION: With the increasing prevalence in weight gain for female college students and higher overall BMIs for LBQ females, promoting healthy habits during college provides an opportunity to short-circuit this trend, especially in the LBQ college population.