461 - Sun Susceptibility: Assessing Coverage in Boys’ & Girls’ Swimsuits

Saturday, April 29, 2023

3:30 PM – 6:00 PM ET

Poster Number: 461
Publication Number: 461.216

Fiona P. Dubrosa, Cohen Children's Medical Center, New York, NY, United States; Kara Sangiuolo, Cohen Children's Medical Center, Fairfield, CT, United States; Mary O'Connor, Cohen Children's Medical Center, New City, NY, United States; Elaine X. Cheng, Cohen Children’s Medical Center, Bethesda, MD, United States; Ananya Terala, Cohen Children's Medical Center, Suwanee, GA, United States; Xihang Wang, Cohen Children's Medical Center, Princeton, NJ, United States; Ruth Milanaik, Cohen Children's Medical Center, Lake Success, NY, United States

Presenting Author(s)

Fiona P. Dubrosa, BS BA (she/her/hers)

Visiting Scholar
Cohen Children's Medical Center
New York, New York, United States

Background: Clothing serves as a first line of defense against harmful UV radiation. It is imperative that swimsuits contain maximal coverage to protect young skin from deadly UV-related diseases in the future, such as skin cancer. In fact, the chance of developing melanoma doubles if a person has had over five sunburns. The shapes and coverage of swimsuits vary drastically between genders, but it is unknown how much this applies to those marketed to young children. This is of utmost importance given the dangers of sun exposure and skin cancer, especially among pediatric populations.

Objective: To compare coverage between gendered swimsuits to examine the differing risk of sun damage.

Design/Methods: Characteristics of the first 10 children’s bathing suits to appear per gender under default sorting each from publicly available major US retail chain websites were assessed. The following data were collected: (1) store and product URL; (2) upper body coverage (e.g.; sleeve length, exposed midriff); (3) lower body coverage (e.g., shorts length); (4) UPF rating (Ultraviolet Protection Factor). Descriptive analysis was conducted in R.

Results: A total of 158 swimsuits were analyzed: 80 for boys and 78 for girls. 14.1% of the girls’ swimsuits contained one or more cutouts, including large side and midriff cutouts, while 0% of the boys’ swimsuits contained cutouts (Table 1). 28.2% of the girls’ swimsuit tops were cropped while 0% of the boys’ tops were cropped. 56.3% of boys’ tops had long sleeves, and the remaining 43.7% of tops had short sleeves covering the shoulder. 16.9% of girls’ tops had long sleeves, while 75.3% had spaghetti straps/tank tops. Of the swimsuits including bottoms, 100% of boys’ bottoms were knee length shorts and 96% of girls’ bottoms were bikini/brief bottoms. See Figure 1 for gendered bathing suit examples. 68.8% of boys’ swimsuits listed a UPF rating, while 64.1% of girls’ swimsuits listed a UPF rating.

Conclusion(s):
The styles and designs of girls’ and boys’ swimsuits at major retailers create a significantly higher risk for young girls being exposed to dangerously high UV levels. While boys’ swimsuits typically featured knee-length shorts and full-coverage sun protection shirts, the majority of girls’ swimsuits contained cropped tops, bikini briefs, and cutouts designed to reveal more skin. Every child has the right to be adequately protected from developing deadly UV-related diseases regardless of gender. Our research shows that high-coverage and UPF-protected options must be available for all young children in order to protect them from the detrimental effects of sun exposure.