San Diegans Lacking Proper Suntelligence

With the constant sunshine that San Diego experiences year after year, it would seem prudent that San Diego residents would be very well versed in the dangers of too much sun exposure when compared to the rest of the nation.

However, a recent survey done by the American Academy of Dermatology reports otherwise. Our local sunny metropolitan area ranked 17th out of 26 of the nation’s largest urban centers in eight term researchers call “suntelligence” – a person’s behavior, knowledge and attitude toward preventing and detecting skin cancer due to overexposure to the sun.

You may also be surprised to know that other large California cities ranked poorly as well. San Francisco ranked 14th, the highest placement of all California cities, And Los Angeles finished in 22nd place.

Topping out the list was Hartford Connecticut, Salt Lake City, Denver, and Tampa. Seattle, Cleveland, Chicago and Pittsburgh came in at the lowest spots. San Diego Lasik eye surgery.

The survey was based on the results of more than 7100 people that was completed online. Participants were asked a wide range of questions by researchers, including how many hours they typically spend in the sun each week, how often they use sunscreen or wear hats to shield themselves from the sun’s rays, and whether or not sun exposure in childhood is related to skin cancer later in life.

Also, nearly 43% of San Diegans were unaware that it is not wise to use indoor tanning beds.

San Diego LASIK doctor Neil Harris was quite surprised at the surveys results and agreed that if this is truly the case then “San Diegans needs to wise up and educate themselves about the harmful effects the sun can cause.”