HHS HealthBeat (April 1, 2014)
Indoor tanning teens
From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.
Teens may think a tan looks healthy, but there’s nothing healthy or safe about tanning. Researchers at the Centers for Control and Prevention focused on indoor tanning, and looked at data on almost 26,000 ninth through 12th graders from national surveys in 2009 and 2011.
Indoor tanning, like outdoor tanning, can increase the risk of skin cancer. And the more a person tans, the greater the risk. But CDC researcher Dawn Holman says indoor tanning is common among teens. Although some boys indoor tan, she says it is more common among girls.
“About 1 in 3 non-Hispanic white high school girls indoor tans, and most indoor tanners report tanning 10 or more times per year.”
The study is in the journal JAMA Dermatology.
Learn more at healthfinder.gov.
HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.
Last revised: April 1, 2014