Edinburgh Napier University

  Lay summary: The sun can be harmful. If children/adolescents get sunburnt five or more times, they are twice as likely to get skin cancer as an adult. The sun can be beneficial. It is a source of vitamin D which is essential for healthy bones. Fifteen year old students will have a lesson on sun safety, homework and weekly text messages over the summer holidays to encourage safer behaviour. We will measure skin colour on their forearms to see if they got sunburnt and ask them if they would be willing to give a drop of blood with a thumb prick for measuring vitamin D in a future study.