cover image: The effects of sun intensity

20.500.12592/4c4sj7

The effects of sun intensity

13 Jun 2022

A drawback of our data is that we only observe the district of residence at the time of the school entry examination, as opposed to the district during pregnancy and the first months of life. [...] Havel and Potsdam-Mittelmark were on average exposed to the most sunshine hours, and children born in the district of Leer to the least sunshine hours during pregnancy and the first six months of life (1,326 versus 1,083 hours for pregnancy and 885 hours versus 735 hours for the first six months of life). [...] To assess the magnitude of the impact of sunshine in the first six months of life, consider an increase of 100 sunshine hours – which is equivalent to the increased sun intensity from a two-and-a-half-week-long holiday in winter to a destination where sunshine is similar to that in summer. [...] In terms of magnitude, 100 additional hours of sunshine in this time period, which is equivalent to the increased sun intensity from a two-and-a-half-week-long holiday in winter to a destination where sunshine is similar to that in summer, reduce the risk of being overweight at age six by 1.1 percent, the risk of obesity by 2.6 percent, and the risk of severe obesity by 6 percent. [...] Assuming that mothers of infants spend a third of their time in the sun during sunny days (which is likely to be an overestimate), our estimates imply that only 33 hours of additional direct sunshine exposure in the first six months of life—or 11 minutes per day—are required to induce a 1.1 percent reduction in the risk of overweight, and a 6 percent reduction in the risk of severe obesity at age.
Pages
50
Published in
United Kingdom