PARIS, May 18 — While a bottle of sunscreen has become an essential while packing for a vacation, it has to be used wisely for it to be effective.
A new study conducted in seven countries around the world reveals that less than a third of children received adequate sun protection when exposed during the hottest hours of the day.
A figure that is rather problematic considering the risks involved.
During the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) Congress, which has just ended in Slovenia, Pierre Fabre unveiled the results of its ‘Sunscreen Assessment Family Experience (SAFE)*’ study, which was conducted among 8,000 adults — parents and grandparents — in seven countries around the world during the summer months.
And it is clear that adults and children are still not following health recommendations for sun protection.
Last year, at the height of the summer season, only about one-third of children received adequate sun protection while exposed during the hours of the day when the sun is at its strongest.
This figure drops to 13 per cent for the adult population. And this isn’t the only recommendation that many don’t follow.
While health professionals recommend applying sun protection at least every two hours during the periods of sunshine when risk is considered highest — between 11am and 5pm — only 18.5 per cent of children have actually benefited from such assiduity.
“Between 50 and 80 per cent of cumulative exposure occurs during early childhood and is the leading cause of most skin cancers,” outlines Dr Ariadna Ortiz Brugués Medical Directorate at Laboratoires Dermatologiques Avène.
However, the study shows that 32 per cent of children had at least one sunburn during the summer; the average number of sunburns was two.
These behaviours could be explained by a lack of information on sun protection, as well as by certain misunderstandings that are clearly enduring, despite the prevention campaigns conducted each year.
Nearly one out of two people surveyed (45 per cent) admitted not knowing that UVB rays cause sunburn, 27 per cent didn’t know that UVA rays accelerate skin aging, and more than a fifth of respondents are convinced that clouds protect from the sun.
But these numbers could soon change dramatically for the better considering that many children take the matter seriously.
Nearly 47 per cent of them said they would apply sunscreen without the help of their parents. This is true in all the countries surveyed, from France (41 per cent) to the United States (54 per cent), as well as Spain (nearly 52 per cent) and Germany (nearly 46 per cent).
And generally speaking, the youngest respondents showed that they were aware of the issues surrounding sun protection, up to 70 per cent.
* This survey was conducted by French company EMMA, among 8,120 adults with authority over children (6,662 parents and 1,458 grandparents) during the summer period, in August 2021 in France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the United States and in January 2022 in Brazil and Australia. — ETX Studio
