Researchers have said that a study of Florida fourth-graders found students would more likely wear hats at recess to protect from skin cancer if their teachers did.

Nearly 2,500 students at 22 elementary schools were tracked by the researchers at the University of South Florida College of Medicine. Half of the schools were assigned to the sun-protection program and provided two lightweight, tightly woven hats with wide brims designed to shade the most vulnerable parts of the head, face and neck.

One of the hats was to be worn while playing outside and remained at school and another hat went home with each student. The other half of the schools, were in the control group and did not receive hats.

At the control schools without hats the percentage of students observed wearing hats while playing outside -- recess, physical education and lunch, essentially did not change, but at the intervention schools, overall hat use increased by 42 percent.

Roetzheim further said that the study also found when teachers and principals more fully embraced sun protection, their students were more likely to comply with hat use, but the behavior did not carry over to home and other places outside school, where parents and siblings were not role models. (With Inputs from Agencies)