Indoor tanning does, in fact, increase the risk of skin cancer, and may speed up the aging process in skin, causing wrinkles. Despite this, a new survey released today found that 18 percent of women and more than 6 percent of men said they have gone indoor tanning at least once in the previous year.
Indoor Tanning Risks
"It's the popularity of indoor tanning that's alarming," study author Dr. Kelvin Choi of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis told Reuters Health.
And when he and his colleagues asked a subset of participants to list the steps people could take to reduce their risk of skin cancer, only 13 percent of women - and even fewer men - said skip indoor tanning.
Indoor tanning was most popular among young women. More than 1 in 3 women between the ages of 18 and 24, and 1 in 4 between the ages of 25 and 34, said they tanned indoors.
The popularity of indoor tanning among young women may explain why more and more women under the age of 40 are being diagnosed with skin cancer, Choi noted.
Indoor Tanning Risks
Comments