The increased stature in all SES groups is indicative of general improvements in socioeconomic conditions. The increased prevalence of obesity in the lower SES groups is in keeping with the findings in other middle-income developing countries.

American Association of Physical Anthropologists (AAPA) membership surveys from 1996 and 1998 revealed significant gender disparities in academic status. A 2014 follow-up survey showed that gender equality had improved, particularly with respect to the number of women in tenurestream positions. However, although women comprised 70% of AAPA membership at that time, the percentage of women full professors remained low. Here, we continue to consider the status of women in biological anthropology by examining the representation of women through a quantitative analysis of their participation in annual meetings of the AAPA during the past 20 years. We also review the programmatic goals of the AAPA Committee on Diversity Women's Initiative (COD-WIN) and provide survey results of women who participated in COD-WIN professional development workshops. Finally, we examine the diversity of women's career paths through the personal narratives of 14 women biological anthropologists spanning all ranks from graduate student to Professor Emeritus. We find that over the past 20 years, the percentage of women first authors of invited symposia talks has increased, particularly in the sub-disciplines of bioarchaeology, genetics, and paleoanthropology. The percentage of women first authors on contributed talks and posters has also increased. However, these observed increases are still lower than expected given the percentage of graduate student women and women at the rank of assistant and associate professor. The personal narratives highlight first-hand the impact of mentoring on career trajectory, the challenges of achieving work-life satisfaction, and resilience in the face of the unexpected. We end with some suggestions for how to continue to improve equality and equity for women in biological anthropology. STEM, grassroots efforts by national organizations and coalitions, and individual efforts by institutions and mentors, individually and together influence the change in retention and advancement for women across scientific disciplines (Chesler & Chesler, 2002;Geisinger & Raman, 2013;Kaminski & Geisler, 2012). While the causes of the disparity in recruitment, retention, and advancement of women in STEM may have changed during the past 40 years, the disparity remains (Xu, 2008;Ceci, Ginther, Kahn, & Williams, 2014).Anthropologists have been aware of these disparities and have worked for many years to address them. For decades, the American Anthropological Association (AAA) collected demographic information on degrees awarded in anthropology. In 1995 the AAA established the Committee on the Status of Women in Anthropology (currently the Committee on Gender Equity in Anthropology). This Committee monitors gender discrimination and sexual harassment, conducts academic and nonacademic employment assessments, and has produced several reports on work, climate, and gender (Brondo, Bennett, Farner, Martin, & Mrkva, 2009;Wasson et al., 2008). The Committee also presents an annual award to individuals who have served the discipline ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Experts hypothesized increased weight gain in children associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, potentially due to closures of schools and recreational facilities with consequent reduction of physical activity and dietary changes. Our objective was to evaluate whether the rate of change of child BMI increased during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to pre-pandemic years. METHODS The study population of 1996 children ages 2-19 years with at least one BMI measure before and during the COVID-19 pandemic was drawn from 38 pediatric cohorts across the US participating in the ECHO-wide Cohort Study. We modelled change in BMI using linear mixed models adjusting for age, sex, race, ethnicity, maternal education, income, baseline BMI category, and type of BMI measure. Data collection and analysis was approved by the local IRB of each institution or by the central ECHO IRB. RESULTS BMI increased during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to previous years (0.24 higher annual gain in BMI during the pandemic compared to previous years, 95% CI 0.02, 0.45). Children with BMI in the obese range compared to the healthy weight range were at higher risk for excess BMI gain during the pandemic, while children in higher-income households were at decreased risk of BMI gain. CONCLUSIONS One effect of the COVID-19 pandemic is an increase in annual BMI gain during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with the three prior years among children in our national cohort. This increased risk among US children may worsen a critical threat to public health and health equity.

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This study evaluates the impact of COVID-19 pandemic-related family hardships on youth’s psychological well-being and identifies malleable factors to promote and protect against such outcomes.

ImportanceThe COVID-19 pandemic led to widespread lockdowns and school closures that may have affected screen time among children. Although restrictions were strongest early in the pandemic, it is unclear how screen time changed as the pandemic progressed.ObjectiveTo evaluate change in children’s screen time from before the pandemic to during the pandemic, from July 2019 through August 2021.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis is a longitudinal cohort study with repeated measures of screen time collected before the pandemic and during 2 pandemic periods. Children aged 4 to 12 years and their parent were enrolled in 3 pediatric cohorts across 3 states in the US participating in the Environmental Influences of Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program. Data analysis was performed from November 2021 to July 2022.ExposuresCOVID-19 pandemic period: prepandemic (July 2019 to March 2020), pandemic period 1 (December 2020 to April 2021), and pandemic period 2 (May 2021 to August 2021).Main Outcomes and MeasuresThe primary outcomes were total, educational (not including remote school), and recreational screen time assessed via the ECHO Child Media Use questionnaire. Linear mixed-effects models were used for screen time adjusted for child’s age, number of siblings, sex, race, ethnicity, and maternal education.ResultsThe cohort included 228 children (prepandemic mean [SD] age, 7.0 [2.7] years; 100 female [43.9%]) with screen time measured during the prepandemic period and at least once during the pandemic period. Prepandemic mean (SD) total screen time was 4.4 (3.9) hours per day and increased 1.75 hours per day (95% CI, 1.18-2.31 hours per day) in the first pandemic period and 1.11 hours per day (95% CI, 0.49-1.72 hours per day) in the second pandemic period, in adjusted models. Prepandemic mean (SD) recreational screen time was 4.0 (3.5) hours per day and increased 0.89 hours per day (95% CI, 0.39-1.39 hours per day) in the first pandemic period and 0.70 hours per day (95% CI, 0.16-1.25 hours per day) in the second pandemic period. Prepandemic mean (SD) educational screen time was 0.5 (1.2) hours per day (median [IQR], 0.0 [0.0-0.4] hours per day) and increased 0.93 hours per day (95% CI, 0.67-1.19 hours per day) in the first pandemic period and 0.46 hours per day (95% CI, 0.18-0.74 hours per day) in the second pandemic period.Conclusions and RelevanceThese findings suggest that screen time among children increased during the COVID-19 pandemic and remained elevated even after many public health precautions were lifted. The long-term association of increased screen time during the COVID-19 pandemic with children’s health needs to be determined.

Eating-related routines, such as regular mealtimes, can protect against obesity. Little is known about eating-related routines among preschoolers or the factors that shape those routines. Ecocultural Theory and qualitative interviews with 30 caregivers of preschoolers in Colorado were used to describe eating-related routines at home and parents’ perspectives on the factors that shape routines. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze and interpret data. Consistent with clinical recommendations, parents’ goals included dinner meals where adults and preschoolers eat the same food, in the same place, at the same time. However, parents’ employment schedules and challenges in managing preschoolers’ behavior prevented parents from consistently enacting recommended routines. Educating parents alone may not be sufficient to ensure optimal eating-related routines among preschoolers, and the household context needs to be considered. Families organized routines according to cultural values and available resources.

Results will be interpreted in combination to allow for a holistic understanding of participant behaviors, beliefs, attitudes and values related to each of the 4 topic areas. Collectively, outcomes will provide a comprehensive picture of preschoolers' daily life and inform intervention design and strategies to enhance preschoolers' eating and activity behaviors in the home environment.