Impacts of Sunscreen and Diet on Skin Health and Lifespan, With Heather Goff, MD, MPH

At the 2025 Society of Dermatology Physician Associates (SDPA) Fall Conference in San Antonio, Heather Goff, MD, MPH, associate professor of dermatology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, presented a session titled ‘Lifestyle in Skin Health and Disease.’1

In a previous segment of her interview with HCPLive, Goff highlighted takeaways from this session.2 In this segment of her discussion, Goff touched on how to advise patients regarding the use of sunscreen and inform them on its long-term skin health impacts.

“Keeping their skin looking even in tone, in texture, and keeping it looking young and wrinkle-free, is one of the biggest reasons that people adopt the use of sunscreen and sun protective behaviors,” Goff explained. “It’s that they just don't want their skin to look old or look bad. It's not skin cancer that's making people use sunscreen. It's making their skin look good. So I think [we should approach] exercise from the same perspective, [stating that] your skin will actually look younger if you begin to exercise.”

Goff highlighted the reasons many patients choose to do various healthy behaviors, noting these reasons as elements clinicians may use in their advice to patients. Goff also spoke about environmental pollutants’ impact on skin health, noting ways to address such issues.

“What we can do is we can use topical antioxidants, because things like cigarette smoke and air pollution do oxidize the lipids that are in our skin,” Goff said. “It's called lipid peroxidation, and one of the major lipid peroxidation end-products is something called malondialdehyde. Topical antioxidants mitigate the formation of lipid peroxidation products…When you apply topical antioxidants, or you're eating more antioxidant-rich foods such as blueberries, for instance, you are consuming or applying electron donors.”

Goff also highlighted a notable element to lifespan increases among older adults, noting the value of exercise and social activity.

“If you reach the age of 60 and you haven't died…the biggest thing that is going to play a role in life expectancy from age 60 to age 80 is actually one’s level of physical activity and lean muscle mass,” Goff said. “But once you reach age 80, interestingly enough, the role of exercise and sociability flips, and how social you are actually tends to be the biggest predictive factor when it comes to achieving a long life expectancy and a life that feels rich and full.”

View Goff’s full video for more information. For any further information on topics such as these, presented at SDPA, check out the latest conference coverage page.

The quotes implemented in this video summary were edited for the purposes of clarity.

Goff had no relevant financial disclosures to include.

References

1. Goff H. Lifestyle in Skin Health and Disease. Presented at the Society of Dermatology Physician Associates (SDPA) Fall Conference, November 5-9, San Antonio, TX.

2. Goff H. Tips on Advising Dermatology Patients on Diet and Lifestyle Choices, With Heather Goff, MD, MPH. HCPLive. November 6, 2025. https://www.hcplive.com/view/tips-advising-dermatology-patients-diet-lifestyle-choices-heather-goff-md-mph.