Smoking, binge drinking and unsafe tanning are all more common in men who tan than in women
Although men use tanning beds less frequently than women, they tend to do so in riskier ways, reports study at the University of Connecticut. The study findings may promote public health officials to rethink how at whom the anti-tanning messages should be targeted. Because the stereotypical tanning salon client is a young woman, almost all the research and health messaging on tanning has focused on that demographic. But the new research study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found that one in three people who use tanning beds in the U.S. are male.
‘While men and women use tanning beds at the same rate, smoking and binge drinking is higher in men and they tend to treat tanning as an addiction than women do.’
Men who tan report using tanning beds with about the same frequency as women, but smoke and binge drink at higher rates than their female counterparts, and they also tend to treat tanning more like an addiction than women do, say the authors. A full 49 percent of men who used tanning beds fit a pattern of addictive behavior around tanning. "That was really surprising," says lead author Sherry Pagoto, a clinical psychologist and director of the UConn Center for mHealth and Social Media. "If they tan with the same frequency as women, why would tanning in men be more addictive?"
Pagoto and her colleagues conducted a national survey of 636 people who answered "yes" when asked whether they had ever used a tanning bed. They queried the participants about frequency of use, preferred locations to tan, how they felt about tanning, and why they did it.
The differences between men and women were marked. Women preferred to tan in salons, and said they valued low cost, cleanliness, and convenience. Men who tanned preferred less regulated settings, such as gyms or private homes. They said they liked to tan to accentuate the appearance of their muscles, or as a reward after working out. They also reported smoking tobacco, binge drinking alcohol, and drinking soda significantly more often than women who tan.
Men also answered "yes" when asked if they ever felt anxious if they weren't able to tan, tanned to relieve stress, or spent money on tanning even when they couldn't afford it. They agreed with statements such as "I'd like to quit but I keep going back to it."
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Pagoto and her team are pursuing another study to delve more deeply into who tans, asking questions about sexual orientation, given that recent research has revealed that homosexual men are just as likely to use tanning beds as young women. The research should help health officials trying to warn the public of the very real connection between tanning beds and skin cancer, she says.
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Most current marketing messaging is targeted to teen- and college-aged women, according to Pagoto. Men who tan are unlikely to relate to that type of message. Pagoto is now applying social media marketing principles to develop prevention messages that resonate with specific audience segments.
"We're also hoping to spread the message on college campuses, since the tanning industry heavily markets to college students," she says.
Source-Eurekalert