Wearing sunscreen at all times when exposed could starve the body of vitamins which protect against various diseases, claim Edinburgh based scientists.
The news is reported in the latest edition of the Royal Society of Chemistry journal Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences.
Depletion of the ozone layer over the past four decades has resulted in increased levels of UV light reaching the earth.
Meanwhile, worldwide research into the knock-on effects of over-exposure to UV light are well publicised - such as the Australian government's 'slip,slap,slop' campaign to use sunscreen to protect from skin cancer.
But the positive effects of sunlight on the human body are less widely paraded.
Professor Mary Norval and a team from the University of Edinburgh Medical School have studied recent research into effects of the UV light on human health - and the positive and negative implications of ozone depletion.
Non-malignant skin cancers have been shown to be largely attributed to sun exposure, as have the malignant variety though these are also affected by genetic factors.
Eye damage can also occur in two main ways - formation of cataracts, and growths called pterygiums.
Prof Norval said: "Large increases in the occurrences of these two eye conditions are predicted in the future."
While the research supports various government campaigns to get citizens to protect themselves from the sun, scientists are finding more beneficial effects of UV light on humans.