Didn't know to post this in the Family or the Medical Forum ... but since it Kid's Eyes ... here will do.
Short-sightedness, or myopia, a global epidemic as children spend less time outdoors
A précis of the News article is along the lines of that it's been my assumption that short-sightedness is caused by too many books and use of computers and tablets etc, but recent research does refute the claim.
While that might a contributing factor, it's not the root cause.
Get your child into the outdoors if you want to help them avoid having vision issues later in life — that's the message from researchers looking into an expected increase in the worldwide rate of short-sightedness.
The World Health Organisation has said short-sightedness, or myopia, already affects about 30 per cent of the world's population.
That figure is expected to rise to 50 per cent by 2050 and researchers believe it will mainly be down to one thing — all the time children are spending indoors.
At first it was thought the jump in non-genetic myopia must be due to children spending more time on computers, smart phones and iPads.
But many researchers now agree that it is not the devices, but a related issue. Increased myopia is most likely caused by children spending less time outside.
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An eye that's myopic is an eye that's growing too fast, too quickly and what we are actually thinking may be occurring is that when children spend time outdoors they are getting enough release of retinal dopamine to actually regulate the growth of their eye," Professor Rose said.
Balance of the Article