People getting lots of sun are more likely to get skin cancer, but it is less deadly than most think.
Skin cancer is very common, but the vast majority of cases are minor, requiring simple removal. Melanoma, the much more dangerous kind, is fairly rare.
Overall, about 3,500 people die of skin cancer in the UK each year—just 1% of the 350,000 deaths from cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Skin cancer shouldn't be downplayed, but if encouraging people to hide from the sun raises their risk of more impactful diseases, it's time for a new conversation.
The benefits are so much greater because it doesn't take much sun to get them.
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Nobody needs a huge amount; sunburns are clearly detrimental and associated with higher rates of melanoma.
The dangers come from getting almost no sunlight—and that's exactly the amount more people are getting.
Why don't we hear about this more often?
Jacobsen chalks it up to anchoring bias: people cling to the first information they hear, even if better information comes later.
Institutions are even more susceptible.
The powers that be spent so much time convincing people to get out of the sun that they are loth to admit the reality is more complicated.
So what should we do? The answer depends on who you are, where you are, and what time of year it is.
Original recommendations to shun the sun came from Australia—one of the sunniest places on Earth, with a predominantly fair-skinned population.
