Final answer:
Individuals with dark-colored skin produce more melanin, the brown pigment that gives skin its color and offers protection from UV light. Therefore, the correct option is 1.
Step-by-step explanation:
People with dark-colored skin primarily produce more melanin than those with lighter skin tones. Melanin is the brown pigment that gives skin most of its color and plays a critical role in protecting the skin against UV light damage. Melanocytes, found in the stratum basale of the epidermis, are the cells responsible for melanin production. Dark-skinned individuals have melanocytes that produce and transfer more melanin into keratinocytes, leading to a darker skin tone.