Thursday, March 15, 2012
Poster Area 2 (Foyer Outside Exhibit Hall C) (Convention Center)
As a society we are becoming much more aware of the dangers associated with excessive sun exposure and artificial tanning. Many educational campaigns have been launched to address the issue of sun safety. Sun safety is included in numerous state, Personal Health and Wellness Education standards as well as in the Healthy People 2020 objectives. Research shows that adolescents are heavily influenced by the media which includes radio, television, magazines and the internet. Media messages regarding tanning and the emphasis on a golden bronze appearance can overshadow the messages that students received from educational campaigns. Magazines that target teens were reviewed for messages regarding sun safety and for messages that promoted tanning behaviors. The results of this analysis will be discussed in this presentation.