More shady warnings from our hapless government officials

If I had a nickel for each of the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC’s) and American Medical Association’s (AMA’s) misguided attempts to keep people healthy, I’d be able to retire tomorrow. But actually, I probably wouldn’t retire. After all, someone needs to offer people advice that will truly help them get—and stay—healthy. Because these “experts” sure aren’t.

Take a recent report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, for instance. It rails against teen indoor tanning, of all things.

The report notes that, while indoor tanning has decreased among high school students, around 20 percent of females in high school engaged in the practice at least once during 2013. And around 10 percent hit tanning beds 10 or more a year. Hardly the nationwide epidemic they’d like us to be up in arms about.

The study’s author notes, “These decreases in indoor tanning may be partly attributable to increased awareness of its harms.” How could it NOT be? All of our government health officials are obsessed with this topic.

Now, I’m not saying teens should go ahead and jump into tanning beds in their spare time. While I do advocate getting some healthy exposure to REAL sunlight, I’ve never been a big fan of tanning beds.

But my issue here is about priorities. The money our so-called health authorities spent proving the obvious here would have been better invested devising ways to combat the teen obesity epidemic. Which, unlike tanning, is only getting worse and worse—and is way, way more of a health threat.

But I’m not surprised at the “experts’” attitude here. After all, these are the folks who are still fixated on cholesterol and recently came out with a pat-themselves-on-the-back report about how life expectancy is at a record high, when our nation is sicker and fatter than ever.

Bottom line? Take what the government health “experts” say with a grain of salt.  Enjoy some quality time in the sun. And stay focused on what really matters: making sugar the enemy—when it comes to feeding your kids and yourself.

Source:

“Trends in Indoor Tanning Among US High School Students, 2009-2013,” JAMA Dermatology, epub ahead of print 12/13/14