Teens’ Indoor Tanning Tied to Other Risky Behavior

Government research links indoor tanning by teenagers with other risks including binge drinking, unhealthy dieting and sexual activity.

Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found other behaviors were also more common among high school students who use sun lamps or indoor tanning beds than teens who don't. That included drug use among girls and smoking among boys.

Those results are in a CDC analysis of 2009-11 national surveys. The report was published online Wednesday in the journal JAMA Dermatology.

About 1 in 5 high school girls reported indoor tanning in 2011, down from earlier years. It was less common among boys.

Skin cancer is linked with tanning and the most serious kind, melanoma, is rare but increasing in teens.

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