Public Awareness and Behaviour in Great Britain in the Context of Sunlight Exposure and Vitamin D: Results from the First Large-Scale and Representative Survey
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(18), 6924; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17186924
by Kevin Burchell 1,Lesley E. Rhodes 2,3 andAnn R. Webb 1,*
- Noontime sun and D
- Vitamin D Myths - SUN
- Avoiding the sun may be as bad as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day – July 2019
- Which Is Worse - Avoiding Sunlight or Vitamin D Deficiency – April 2019
- Sunlight on skin has decreased 9X while melanoma has increased 30X – Feb 2020
- More Cancer, less Solar Radiation - 1941
- Sunny side of the hill is the healthiest – 400BC
- Health benefit of Sunlight is more than Vitamin D in the blood - many studies
GB public is very unaware of Vitamin D and the benefits of the sun
- This might be epecially true in those with darker skins
- The raw data of the stday is attached at the bottom of this page includes information about skin color,
- which was amazingly not analyzed by this study
- Survey also found that 40% believed that scurvy resulted from low Vitamin D
Download the PDF from Vitamin D Life
In recent years, UK public health messages about the risks of sunlight exposure (skin cancer) have been increasingly balanced by messages about its benefits (vitamin D production). Currently, data about the effects of this shift on public knowledge, awareness, and behaviour are scant. Thus, the objective of this paper is to report the findings of the first large-scale and representative survey of the awareness, knowledge, and behaviour of adults in Great Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales) (n = 2024) with respect to sunlight exposure, vitamin D, and sunburn and skin cancer.
The findings suggest that the public in Great Britain is much more aware of public promotion of the risks of sunlight exposure than its benefits. That said, knowledge about sunlight exposure and vitamin D is fairly strong, though not with respect to the detail of the ‘little and often’ approach. However, the survey also suggests that levels of sunlight exposure among the public are often excessive. The survey indicates that knowledge and behaviour are both less satisfactory among men and people in lower socio-economic groups. The paper concludes with recommendations for public health communications and for research in this area.