Evaluation of Indoor Tanning Facilities in American Fitness Centers

Indoor tanning (IT) in fitness facilities encourages a misleading positive relationship between tanning and health. While IT in Canadian fitness facilities has been studied, American literature regarding this topic is lacking.

The objective of this study is to evaluate availability, cost, reported risks, and adherence to legislation of IT in American fitness clubs.

This was a cross-sectional study utilizing a telephone questionnaire to survey gyms across all 50 states. The key term "fitness club" was searched in the Yellow Pages and 20 facilities from each state were randomly included into the study. Data were described descriptively and Pearson χ² tests were used to compare IT prevalence and rates of noncompliance between population groups. Regression analysis examined potential relationship between cost and prevalence of IT.

Of the 1000 fitness clubs surveyed, 44.4% (444/1000) offered IT. The overall noncompliance rates for age, rest time, and eye protection were 13.8% (54/390), 26.0% (20/77), and 27.8% (85/225), respectively. The most common risk reported was skin cancer (61.6%), but many facilities were unsure of risks (27.0%) and some described no risk associated with IT (3.2%). The average cost for monthly unlimited tanning was 33 ± 13.96 USD. A state-to-state comparison showed a statistically significant inverse relationship between mean cost and prevalence of IT (P = .013, [r]= -0.35).

The prevalence and noncompliance rates of IT in fitness clubs contradict the healthy lifestyles they are working to promote. To limit harms, legislations should be standardized and more strictly enforced. Additionally, public education on IT risks and the use of higher costs may help minimize IT use.