Study Ties Indoor Tanning to Unhealthy Weight Control Behavior

A new research suggests that indoor tanning popular among high school students might also lead to risky weight control behavior.

Researchers at the New York University School of Medicine highlight a strong association between indoor tanning and unhealthy weight control methods. This link was stronger in male adolescents than females. The unhealthy weight control methods include use of diet pills or vomiting to lose weight.

 Study researcher Stephen M. Amrock and Micheal Weitzman claim that indoor tanning apart from being a major risk for melanoma, serious type of skin cancer which is increasing at epidemic rate, may also put teens at an increased risk of eating disorders.

The researchers evaluated the survey data that included 27,000 high school students. Nearly 23 percent of the females and 6.5 percent of the males undertook indoor tanning within the past year. Amongst the older teens, indoor tanning was extremely common with 33 percent females and 11 percent males of age 18 and above using it.

The participants who reported indoor tanning also showed a vulnerability to unhealthy weight control habits. And this unhealthy behavior included fasting for over 24 hours, vomiting or taking laxatives to cut on the extra flab.

After adjusting certain factors the researchers observed that that females who used indoor tanning were nearly 20 percent more vulnerable to report fasting, 40 percent more likely to take laxatives or vomit to reduce weight and were two times more likely to use weight loss pills, powders or liquids.

In males the relation was much stronger. Men who used indoor tanning were two times more likely to report fasting, four times more likely to use pill, powders or liquids to reduce weight and seven times more likely to use laxatives and vomiting.

Linked To Body Image Issues

Adding weight to the previous studies the researchers provide further evidence for an association between tanning and negative body image. Females using indoor tanning were more likely to perceive themselves as having normal weight and at the same time say they were trying to shed some extra kilos.

Though the study does not highlight a definitive link between indoor tanning and eating disorders it does state that indoor tanning also has a high rate of unhealthy weight control behavior. Among adolescents negative body image further contributes to high rate of indoor tanning.

The researchers suggest that "screening adolescents for indoor tanning could serve a double purpose: addressing a major risk factor for skin cancer as well as identifying teens at risk for unhealthy weight control behavior. Greater attention to these issues by pediatricians may help reduce the number of adolescents risking potentially deadly consequence."

The study was documented in the journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics.