Tanning is the process of browning the skin by exposure to sun. Each year, approximately 30 million Americans visit tanning salons to achieve a bronzed appearance that is considered to be attractive. This averages to about 1 million visits per day to tanning salons throughout the country. Although outdoor tanning is popular as well, indoor tanning provides a convenience that outdoor tanning does not. A 20-minute session in a tanning bed is equivalent to 4 hours outside. Many people also falsely assume that tanning beds do not carry the same risks as sun exposure.

Tanorexia is a slang term for people who have an addiction to tanning. Tanorexia is similar to anorexia, an eating disorder. In anorexia, people starve themselves due to an obsession with losing weight and not feeling thin enough. Tanorexia is similar in that tanorexics feels that they are not tan enough. Many times, people who have an addiction to tanning feel as though they are in competition with others to get the darkest tan. Tanorexics ignore warnings about the dangerous side effects. Tanning can be very relaxing. It releases extra endorphins, which produce pleasant feelings. These pleasurable feelings may contribute to the obsession with tanning. Studies have shown that people with a tanning addiction may experience withdrawal symptoms when tanning is stopped. Tanning occurs when ultraviolet radiation from the sun causes an increased release of melanin in the skin. Ultraviolet radiation is divided into two types. UVA radiation makes people tan by penetrating the lower layers of skin and triggering the melanocytes to produce melanin.

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