Fear is a great motivator.

UT Medical Center employees want to raise skin cancer awareness, which is commendable. They know exposure to tanning beds before age 35 can increase the risk of melanoma by 75 percent. They also know why most young adults lay by the pool for hours and frequent tanning salons - vanity.

If vanity is powerful enough to make young adults put themselves at risk for skin cancer, it might be powerful enough to make them stop; this seems logical and worthy of exploration. It might even work. But using vanity to scare young adults from spending too much time in the sun might do more harm than good. A more positive way to approach skin cancer awareness is an education in moderation.

Instead of spreading a message of fear, Center employees should disseminate a message of moderation. Young adults shouldn't be afraid of the sun. SkinsolUTions, an event hosted by the UT Medical Center in March, featured a computer program that takes pictures of participants' faces and generates two shots: a current photograph and a glance into a scary future - a photograph of their face after years of UV ray exposure.

Jim Ragonese, the Center's assistant director of public relations, describes the second shot as "pretty ugly." It's just not a good idea to replace a physical insecurity (pale and pasty skin) with another physical insecurity (wrinkly and splotchy skin).

Anti-tobacco campaigns and health professionals use similar shock tactics to stop people from using tobacco products. But while there are no benefits to smoking, studies show there are benefits to moderate sun exposure. In other words, we need the sun.

One benefit is vitamin D. Dieticians are concerned people aren't getting enough vitamin D, which can result in rickets and osteomalacia . Vitamin D is created in the body after exposure to UV rays. Dieticians say it can be difficult to obtain enough vitamin D from food sources.

The UT Medical Center employees have good intentions, but their vanity-focused SkinsolUTions project is only going to create more solar-phobias. Solar-phobic is a term used by Dr. Robert S. Stern, Department of Dermatology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center , to describe people so concerned about getting skin cancer that they stay inside or cover every bit of skin.

Instead of spreading a message of fear, Center employees should disseminate a message of moderation. Young adults shouldn't be afraid of the sun. They shouldn't think exposure is going to make them hideous.

They just need an education in moderation. When practicing moderation, young adults must consider certain variables. The most important is skin type.

While sun exposure increases one's production of vitamin D, sunburn has no benefits. Knowing your skin is the best way to avoid sunburn. People who are fair-skinned and burn easily should spend less time outside when the sun is at its strongest. But people with darker skin need more fun in the sun to manufacture vitamin D because their pigment blocks ultraviolet rays.

Some people, both fair and dark, argue that tanning beds are helpful in avoiding sunburn. Occasional tanning gives them a base tan that prevents them from burning when engaging in outdoor activities.

Another variable is location. Higher latitudes have lower UV intensity. So residents of Miami should be more concerned about prolonged exposure than residents of Boston.

Time of day is also a variable. The sun is strongest between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Dietitians recommend getting 10 to 15 minutes of sun exposure to the face, arms, hands or back at this time slot at least two times a week without sunscreen to provide adequate amounts of vitamin D.  

University of Southern California Professor David E. Sawcer gives the best advice: Use common sense.

The Center's SkinsolUTions project did have one commendable aspect. It had dermatologists on site to answer students' questions and offer advice to students about proper skin care habits.

But dieticians should have been present to explain the benefits of sun exposure to give students a more balanced view of the issue. Instead, the computer program scare tactics made the event more about physical appearance than an education in appropriate and inappropriate levels of sun exposure.

As summer approaches, get educated about the right amount of sun exposure for your skin type.