儿童近视率上升的原因是什么？本文就现代生活方式对儿童视力的影响，以及矫正儿童视力的解决方案展开讨论。

 

How's your eyesight? From the moment we're born, our eyes grow, our vision becomes clearer and some of us will have normal or even 20:20 vision. However, others will become short-sighted and end up wearing glasses or contact lenses to help them see everything clearly. And some experts claim that more of us will be wearing them in the future because of our lifestyle when we were younger.

 

Even today, optometrists¹ are reporting a rise in short-sightedness – also called myopia – in children. The condition can be genetic², but it's also partly being blamed on a number of modern-day factors – particularly children staring at phone screens, computers and game consoles³ for long periods of time. It's believed myopia also makes them susceptible⁴ to secondary eye conditions such as glaucoma, retinal detachment and other visual impairments later in life.

 

Of course, children have had increased screen time due to lockdowns imposed⁵ during the Covid pandemic – it's been the only way to access education and communicate with others. But education generally could be blamed for the rise in myopia. Neema Ghorbani-Mojarrad, lecturer at the University of Bradford, told BBC Future website: "We suspect it is reading and spending more time indoors. Every year of education completed increases the expected amount of short-sightedness."

 

The problem appears to be more severe in some Asian countries. Some experts say that in these places with huge educational success, children spend more time indoors studying. Therefore, it seems, spending more time outdoors could be good for children's eye health. The UK's College of Optometrists is suggesting parents should get their kids playing outside for two hours a day. Several scientific studies show this can prevent or stop the development of myopia.

 

There's been a focus on using technology, such as laser surgery, for fixing myopia, but for children at least, it seems a dose of daylight and a break from the screen might be part of the solution. Opticians also recommend kids have regular eye tests to identify any problems before they become more severe.

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