The Boston Globe reports that many dermatologists note growing concern about outdoor exercise among their sports- and fitness-minded patients. Dermatologist Jeffery Dover, MD, advises working out early in the morning or very late in the day to avoid the harshest rays, consistent and ample sunscreen use, and covering up. To date, dermatologists don't have a simple chart that translates hours spent in the sun to years added to one's appearance or increased skin cancer risk, but can say for sure that the more time spent in the sun, the more damage skin endures.
Barbara Gilchrest, MD, professor of dermatology at Boston University School of Medicine, pointed out that all sun damage is damaging and cumulative, and said that the increasing incidence of all skin cancers in the US is widely attributed to sun exposure. In particular, melanoma has increased more than 40-fold since statistics were first kept in the 1930s, she explained. And, according to the American Academy of Dermatology, excessive sun exposure...can promote melanoma development.
