Increase in Nearsightedness in Children Linked to Less Time Spent Outdoors
In 2012 an article in The Lancet medical journal linked rising rates of nearsightedness in children to lack of time spent outdoors. The article, which focuses on children in East Asia, notes that as children have spent more time indoors reading, studying, working on computers, and playing video games, their rates of myopia have skyrocketed. How can we parents respond to this new information to preserve our children’s eyesight?
What Is Myopia?
According to the National Eye Institute, myopia (nearsightedness) is a refractive error where a person can see close objects clearly, but distant objects appear blurry. The condition is caused by an elongated eyeball, which prevents proper focus on distant objects. In most cases, people with myopia require glasses, contacts or surgery to correct their vision. In cases of severe myopia, though, the eyeball can become so elongated that the retina will tear or detach. Sometimes abnormal blood vessels will grow, causing further vision changes. Without intervention, people with severe myopia can experience vision loss.
What Is Happening?
Nathan Seppa reports in Science News that in the past, myopia was considered to be either a hereditary problem (nearsighted parents passing nearsightedness to their children), an issue of too much “near work” such as reading and writing, or a combination of those two causes. However, recent studies have cast doubt on these explanations, suggesting it is time spent indoors that is a major contributor to the problem.
Myopia rates have been increasing in the west over the past few decades as people spend more time indoors. Seppa cites studies showing that rates of myopia have increased alarmingly in East Asia, as children spend the majority of their time indoors studying, rather than outside. The phenomenon appears mainly among city dwellers. Children growing up in rural areas, who generally spend more time outside, have not shown the sharp increase in nearsightedness.
Now that the link between too much indoor time and myopia has been uncovered, we parents can take action to preserve our children’s eyesight. We already know that children need physical activity to be healthy. Now we need to make sure a significant amount of that activity takes place out of doors. Professor Saw Seang Mei, co-author of the Lancet article, recommends that children spend at least 10 hours weekly in outdoor activities. Some ideas for activities that will get your children outdoors include:
Go on nature hikes
Go camping
Have outdoor picnics
Visit outdoor recreation areas, such as lakes, beaches, mountains, parks
Get your children involved in outdoor team sports, such as t-ball, softball, soccer
Take the children (and the dog) for a walk every day
If the whole family joins in, we can all benefit from the exercise and bonding time. Keep the time relaxed and fun; we can build a lifetime of healthy habits into our children and preserve their eyesight at the same time.
