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The health benefits of sunlight may outweigh the risk of skin cancer

(www.economist.com)
277 points petethomas | 2 comments | 19 Sep 25 04:46 UTC | HN request time: 0.398s | source
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tejohnso ◴[19 Sep 25 18:53 UTC] No.45305102[source]▶
"The big picture is that the benefits of sunlight outweigh the risks—provided you don’t get sunburnt,” argues Richard Weller, a dermatologist at the University of Edinburg

Also, Dr. Roger Seheult has some strong opinions on this as well. Considers sun exposure one of the pillars of health and avoiding the sun to be as dangerous as smoking.

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cpncrunch ◴[19 Sep 25 22:17 UTC] No.45307395[source]▶
That does seem to be the case. The Lindqvist study specifically said that sun avoidance was as bad as smoking iirc. Sun exposure has been one of my main activities for over 10 years. The evidence is now overwhelming.
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WarOnPrivacy ◴[20 Sep 25 00:15 UTC] No.45308394[source]▶
I'm in the other camp. Sunlight never feels great and the best I've ever felt is working nights.
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1. cpncrunch ◴[20 Sep 25 00:34 UTC] No.45308532[source]▶
This isn't really about it feeling good or bad, rather it's about the effect of sunlight in significantly reducing mortality.

I agree that strong sunlight on a hot day doesn't feel good.

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2. WarOnPrivacy ◴[20 Sep 25 01:13 UTC] No.45308839[source]▶
> This isn't really about it feeling good or bad,

I'm not sure that's true over the very long run.

We're talking about a proscribed health practice that results in continuing discomfort and sickness. Even if the benefit manifests as predicted, I'm skeptical it can make up for the low quality of life.

edit: I'm far from alone in this. When I share my aversion to sunlight, I find many more folks who feel similarly, than I do people who are puzzled by it.